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CHARLES    MINOT 

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A    STAFF    OFFICER'S 
SCRAP-BOOK 


VOLUME    II 


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A  STAFF  OFFICER'S 

SCRAP-BOOK 


DURING  THE  RUSSO-JAPANESE  WAR 


BT  LIBVT.-OBNBRAL 

Sib  IAN  HAMILTON,  K.C.B. 


WITH  ILLTJSTBATIONS,  MAPS  AND  PLANS 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 


VOLUME  II 


NEW    YORK 

LONGMANS,   GREEN    &    CO. 

LONDON:   EDWARD    ARNOLD 

1907 

lAU  Hffktt  mervad] 


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PREFACE 


The  spectator  who  elbows  his  way  into  the  playhouse 
on  a  crowded  first  night  is  mainly  taken  up  with  the 
struggle  towards  his  seat,  the  effect  of  his  white 
waistcoat,  the  purchase  of  a  programme  and  the  dis- 
posal of  his  hat.  The  curtain  rises ;  the  actors  play 
their  parts,  the  scene  shifts,  the  plot  thickens.  The 
spectator  now  sits  in  the  shadow,  passive  and  detached, 
watching  with  wrapt  attention  the  development  of 
the  drama. 

And  so  it  was  with  me.  At  first  the  small  things 
seemed  to  matter  most.  But  afterwards,  when  images 
of  battle  swept  to  the  sound  of  dreadful  clang  and  shout 
through  the  smoke-clouds  of  the  shrapnel ;  when  army 
rushed  to  meet  army,  and  in  the  shock  of  their  encounter 
strewed  the  country  with  corpses — ^then,  I  seemed  for 
a  moment  to  see  clearly  the  warrior  spirit  of  Japan  as 
it  emerged,  triumphant,  from  the  bloody  tumult. 

I  speak  of  what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  and  leave 
the  rest  to  the  reader.  The  deeper  his  insight  the 
more  intimate  will  be  his  sympathy  with  the  great- 


vi  Preface 

hearted  patriotism  which  animated  all  ranks  in 
Kuroki's  force.  Mutual  understanding  is  the  only- 
bed-rock  upon  which  alliances,  whether  diplomatic  or 
matrimonial,  can  find  enduring  foundations.  Flatteries, 
cajoleries,  exaggerations,  insincerities,  are  the  prelude 
to  disillusionment,  if  not  to  divorce. 

Ian  Hamilton. 

TiDWORTH, 

February  2\,  1906. 


CONTENTS    OF    VOLUME    II 


OHAP. 

XIX. 
XX. 
XXI. 
XXII. 
XXIII. 
XXIV. 
XXV. 
XXVI. 
XXVII. 
XXVIII. 
XXIX. 
XXX. 
XXXI. 
XXXII. 
XXXIII. 
XXXIV. 
XXXV. 
XXXVI. 
XXXVII. 
XXXVIII. 


PAGE 

Reflections  by  the  Way 1 

The  Battle  op  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August     .  36 

The  Russians  Retire 59 

With  the  Guards  Division 75 

KuROKi  Crosses  the  Taitsuho         ....  88 

Manjuyama 102 

LlAOYANG 122 

Sojourn  at  Fenshan 145 

The  Armies  in  Contact 171 

Okasaki's  Dashing  Assault 187 

The  Battle  Continues 209 

Ota's  Sun-Flag 230 

The  Assault  of  the  Tall  Hill      ....  244 

The  Russians  recross  the  Shaho    ....  257 

The  Little  Man  in  Green 264 

Banquets  and  Revels 277 

Nakamura  encounters  Santa  Claus       .               .  290 

The  Devil's  Ploughing 306 

Nanshan  and  Telissu 320 

Fuji  Veils  Her  Face 349 

Index 365 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Major-General  Fajii,  Chief  of  the  Sta£f,  First  Army .        •       •  Fnnuitpieet 

A  Good  Comrade TQfi^eejKige  12 

Colonel  Kawasaki  and  Lt-General  NiBhijima    ....  »i         44 

Swallow's  Nest  Hill  and  the  Pontoon  across  the  Taitsuho  .        .  „         t2 
General  Eoroki  and  Staff  on  Swallow's  Nest  HiU  during  the 

Battle  of  Liaoyang ,,106 

Some  Officers  of  the  12th  Division  Mountain  Artillery  n        1^0 

The  CoDunander  of  the  Mixed  Brigade  on  the  right  of  the 

First  Army,  and  other  Officers ,,132 

The  Temple  to  the  God  of  ChUdren  on  Sankwaisekisan     .       .  „       210 

Chinese  Gods  in  the  Temple  on  Terayama „        260 

A  Visit  to  the  30th  Regiment  in  Winter  Quarters  at  Shotatsuko  „        292 

The  Officer  Commanding  the  2nd  Division  Field  Artillery  in 

his  winter  abode  at  Hamatang „        294 

Sir  Ian  Hamilton  and  *'BooBki,"  December  1904       ...  „       298 

Japanese  Field  Artillery  on  the  March  in  Winter     ...  „        302 

View  from  "Golden  Hill"  of  the  Japanese  Transports  sunk  to 

block  the  Entrance  to  the  Harbour  at  Port  Arthur  „        310 

View  of  Port  Arthur  and  the  Bussian  Warships  from  Golden 

HiU,  January  1905 ,.316 

The  British   Attach6  with  the    2nd  Division,  First   Army, 

Captain  B.  Vincent,  B.Fji ,,360 

Some  of  Nogi's  Infantry  on  their  March  North  from  Port 

Arthur .        .  »       366 

h 


MAPS  AND  SKETCHES 

XVII.  View  of  the  Buesian  Position  South  of  Eiuchorei 
(Eungchanling)  taken  by  2nd  Division,  First  Army, 
between  4  A.H.  and  11-16  A.H.,  August  26, 1904  «  To  face  page    60 

XVIIL  Battle  of  Liaoyang.    First  glimpse  of  the   Plains, 

August  27,  1904 n         62 

XIX.  Bussian  Bear-Guard  Action,  August  28.  View  of 
the  Position  in  front  of  the  2nd  Division,  First 
Arviy „  70 

XX.  The  Battle    of    Liaoyang    as  seen    on    August    30 

and  81, 1904 „  86 

XXI.  View  from   Swallow's  Nest  Hill  looking  Westward  . 

towards  Manjuyama.    September  1,  1904     •        .  „  94 

XXII.  Map   showing    the   lines  of   advance  of   the  First 

Japanese  Army  during  the  Battle  of  Liaoyang     .  „        142 

XXIII.  General  Map   of   the  Battle  of  Liaoyang,  showing 

Bussians  and  Japanese ,,170 

XXrV.  View  of  the  Battlefield  of   the  Shaho  from   Yentai 

Ck>al-Mine  Hill „        206 

XXV.  Sankwaisekisan  (Three  Great  Book  Hill)  captured 

before  dawn  on  October  12,   1904,  by  the  10th 

Division,  Fourth  Army  .««...  „        212 

XXVI.  Sketch  of  Okasaki  Yama  from  the  Position  of  the 

First  Army  Headquarters,  October  13,  1904,  cap- 
tured by  the  16th  Brigade,  2nd  Division        .        .  „        260 

XXVII.  View  from  the  top  of  the  Pass  at  Chosenrei  looking 

towards  Penchiho „        244 

XXVIII.  View  from  Honda  Yama,  the  right  of  the  Japanese 

Position  near  Penchiho  ••••«.  „        228 

•g'^TT.  View  of  the  Taitsuho  Valley  near  Weining  from  the 

most  advanced  Japanese  Trenches ....  „       236 

XXX.  View  of  the  Japanese  Position  near  Penchiho  from 

the  Bussian  side ,,       242 


Maps  and  Sketches  xi 

XXXI.  View  of    Gunki  Yama  (Standard  Hill)  from  the 

Japanese  trenches  at  the  Taling  (Pass) .        .  Tofaoepage  2B^ 

XXXII.  View  of  Talingfrom  the  road  by  which  the  Russians 

attacked  at  dawn,  October  12      .        .        .        .  „        230 

XXXIII.  Map  showing    the   operations  of    the    2nd    and 

Imperial   Guards  Divisions    at  the    Battle  of 

theShaho „        264 

XXXIY.  Map  showing  the  action  of  Prince  Eanin's  Cavalry 

Brigade  near  Penchiho  on  October  12        .        .  „        288 

XXXV.  Yentai  Coal-Mlne  Hill— Our  Winter  Quarters  .  „        290 

XXXVI.  203  Metre  Hill  near  Port  Arthur      •        .        •        .  ,,808 

XXXVII.  View  of  Port  Arthur  Harbour  from  the  top  of  203 

Metre  Hill .  ,,318 

XXXVIII.  View  of  the  Russian  Position  at  Nanshan  from  the 

Walls  of  Einchou „        324 

XXXIX.  View  looking  North  from  the  Russian  Position  at 

Nanshan „        326 

XL.  Plan  of  the  Battlefield  of  Telissu     ....  ,,332 

XLI.  View   from  the  left  of  the   Russian  Position  at 

Telissu,  June  15, 1904 »,        334 

XLII.  Plan  of  the  Battle  of  Heikoutai        ....  ,,858 


CHAPTER  XIX 

REFLECTIONS  BY  THE  WAY 

LiENSHANKUAN,  August  Brd,  1904. — ^The  work  of 
the  First  Army  as  an  independent  unit  is  now  ended. 
All  the  anxieties  of  the  General  Staff,  all  the  privations 
and  endurance  of  the  officers  and  men,  have  become  so 
much  food  for  history.  In  future  we  shall  fight 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  our  friends  of  the  Second 
and  Fourth  Armies — ^at  present  our  tents  are  pitched 
by  pleasant  waters  where  the  vast  shadow  of  the 
Heaven-reaching  Pass  lends  grateful  coolness  to  the 
air.  No  soldier,  surely,  could  wish  better  fortune, 
and  yet, 

**  After  a  life  spent  training  for  the  sight," 

I  feel  as  if  not  even  the  unknown  glories  of  to-morrow 
could  repay  me  for  the  home-sickness  of  to-<iay. 
Naughty  boys  are  tamed  by  being  put  in  the  corner, 
but  is  it  possible  that  mere  isolation  can  overcome 
an  essence  so  divine  as  the  spirit  of  adventure? 
It  may  be  so.  Assuredly  my  depression  is  not 
fairly  chargeable  to  my  Japanese  hosts,  who  lose 
no  chance  of  showing  me  kindness,  and  who,  ever 
since  the  days  of  Fenghuangcheng,  have  left  me 
an  absolutely  free  hand  to  go  wherever  I  like  and 
to  see  whatever  I  may  wish  to  see.    But  I  must 

11  A 


2  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scrap-Book 

always  be  accompanied  by  an  officer  or  a  non-com- 
missioned officer,  and  whenever  I  walk  and  wherever 
I  go,  or  whatever  I  do,  I  am  unceasingly  a  target 
for  ciu'ious  eyes.  There  is  no  help  for  it,  I  know, 
but  in  coturse  of  time  this  sense  of  being  watched  gets 
upon  the  nerves  and  I  long  with  an  intense  longing 
for  one  of  the  two  most  secluded  situations  of  the 
world — the  desert  of  the  Sahara  or  a  hansom  cab  in 
London. 

I  went  this  afternoon  for  a  walk  with  Sergeant- 
Major  Sumino.  I  gathered  from  him  that  the  men  are 
burning  to  advance,  and  that  there  is  a  saying  current 
amongst  them  to  the  effect  that  the  way  back  to  Japan 
lies  through  Liaoyang.  Also,  he  tells  me  that  two  days 
ago  the  horse  of  a  Russian  officer  was  shot,  and  that  in 
the  wallets  were  found  hollow-nosed,  or  dum-dum, 
revolver  bullets.  He  hinted  that  if  the  officer 
had  been  caught  he  would  have  had  short  shrift. 
He  had  hardly  finished  speaking,  and  I  was  in  hopes 
of  getting  him  to  go  on,  when  our  promenade  was 
interrupted. 

About  four  miles  out  from  Lienshankuan,  the  road 
we  were  pursuing  led  us  over  a  little  saddle  or  col. 
Just  as  we  reached  the  top,  my  heart  stood  still  as  I 
found  myself  face  to  face  with  a  column  of  Russians 
who  were  marching  up  from  the  other  side.  It  took 
two  seconds  at  least  to  realise  that  I  was  not  con- 
fronted by  the  formidable  invaders  of  the  Himalaya,  as 
they  periodically  appear  in  the  imaginations  of  our 
frontier  officers,  but  by  an  unhappy  batch  of  prisoners 
coming  in  from  the  Yushuling  battlefield.  There 
were  sixty  of  them  under  a  small  escort.  They  all 
wore  34  or  35  on  their  shoulder-straps.  A  large  pro- 
portion of  these  prisoners  were  fine-looking  men  who 


Rbflbctions  by  ths  Way  3 

might  have  been  drafted  into  the  ranks  of  our  Guards 
forthwith,  and  only  four  or  five  of  them  at  the  most 
had  the  very  heavy,  dull,  half-finished  features  and 
expression  I  had  noticed  in  the  prisoners  taken  on  the 
Motienling.  Some  were  old — forty  ;  some  looked  ill ; 
all  looked  exhausted,  with  hollow,  pinched  cheeks  and 
weary  eyelids.  It  was  sad  indeed  to  see  brave  soldiers 
reduced  to  such  an  extremity. 

With  the  party  were  two  lieutenant-colonels,  a 
captain  and  a  doctor.  The  doctor  spoke  German 
furchtha/r  schlechty  and  asked  me  if  I  was  a  journalist. 
When  I  said  I  was  a  British  officer,  he  and  the  other 
officers  to  whom  he  passed  the  information  very 
politely  exchanged  salutes  with  me.  The  senior  lieu- 
tenant-colonel asked  the  doctor  to  inquire  if  I  could 
induce  the  corporal  to  let  them  sit  down  and  rest 
for  ten  minutes,  as  they  were  deadly  tired,  having 
marched  that  day  all  the  yray  from  Chaotao.  I 
easily  persuaded  Sumino  to  arrange  this.  The  doctor 
said  the  battle  had  been  bloody  and  the  losses  terribly 
heavy.  I  daresay  I  could  have  got  a  good  lot  of 
interesting  information  out  of  him ;  but  on  the  one 
hand  Sumino  was  on  pins  and  needles  at  this  un- 
authorised conversation  taking  place  when  I  was 
under  his  charge,  and  on  the  other  I  felt  so  sorry  for 
the  poor  fellows  that  I  did  not  like  to  bother  them 
with  questions.  I  went  on,  therefore,  and  left  the 
dreary  little  party  sitting  on  the  top  of  the  coh  As 
soon  as  were  alone,  Sumino  expressed  to  me  his 
astonishment  that  officers  who  had  been  taken  prisoners 
could  accommodate  themselves  so  easily  to  their  lot. 
I  said,  "  How  can  you  say  they  do  not  care  ;  they 
seemed  to  me  very  sad."  "  Ah,"  he  replied,  **  but  they 
ought  to  be  quite  desperate ! " 


/ 


4  A  Statf  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

LiENSHANKUAN,  August  4th^  1904. — One  of  the 
Staff  looked  in  soon  after  six  o'clock  this  morning  and 
so  caught  me  before  I  was  dressed.  He  came  to 
announce  that  the  Second  Army  had  entered  Haicheng 
last  night.  The  Fourth  Army  was  ready  to  co-operate, 
but  as  there  was  no  opposition  they  have  remained  at 
Takubokujo,*  from  the  vicinity  of  which  the  Russians 
have  now  cleared  away.  I  expressed  some  surprise 
that  Nodzu,  with  the  Fourth  Army,  was  not  pressing 
up  to  stretch  out  his  hand  to  Kuroki  so  as  to 
close  the  dangerous  gap  on  our  lefib.  My  friend 
replied  : 

^*  That  movement  is  not  so  easy  in  Manchuria  as  it 
would  be  at  the  Staff  College.  Owing  to  the  efforts  of 
our  line  of  communications  staff  we  ourselves  have 
munitions  and  food-supplies  sufficient  to  justify  us  in 
advancing  to-morrow,  but^  do  you  believe  that  behind 
the  Second  and  Fourth  Armies  enough  stores  have  been 
collected  to  enable  them  to  march  vigorously  forward  ? 
So  as  to  show,  I  mean  to  say,  the  full  quickness  of  the 
Japanese  foot  ?  We  must  reserve  all  lightning  move- 
ments for  essays  on  tactics,  and  meanwhile  we  do  not 
quite  know  what  to  make  of  the  unopposed  entry  of 
Oku  into  Haicheng.  Perhaps  its  garrison  had  been 
withdrawn  to  overwhelm  our  Twelfth  Division  at 
Yushuling,  or  perhaps  Kuropatkin  is  going  to  concen- 
trate. If  so,  the  agitating  question  which  we  have  to 
put  to  ourselves  is  whether  he  will  make  his  stand  at 
Anshantien,  at  Liaoyang,  or  at  some  point  still  further 
to  the  north.  These  are,  in  my  opinion,  the  three 
alternatives,  but  there  are  officers — and  I  am  not  sure 
that  Marshal  Kuroki  does  not  share  their  opinion — who 
think  it  is  still  possible  that  the  enemy  may  conceiitrate 

*  Ohinese,  Tomuoheng. 


Eeflections  by  the  Way  5 

in  great  force  to  our  front  and  attack  us  in  our  present 
position.  I  wish  I  could  believe  there  was  any  chance 
of  this  happening,  for  we  should  then  be  saved  the 
cruel  anxiety  of  groping  still  further  into  these  horrible 
mountains.  But,  alas,  I  fear  the  Btissians  won't  accept 
the  risk.  It  would  take  Kuropatkin  some  time  to  col- 
lect sufficient  troops  for  an  attack  upon  us  here,  and 
Oku  and  Nodzu  are  not  the  men  to  sit  inactive  whilst 
forces  are  being  withdrawn  from  their  front  for  such  a 
purpose.  From  the  outpost  line  of  Sasaki's  Brigade 
the  heights  overlooking  Liaoyang  can  plainly  be  dis- 
tinguished, and  the  First,  Fourth  and  Second  Man- 
churian  Armies  are  now  close  enough  together  to 
be  able  to  co-operate,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  prevent- 
ing one  force  being  overwhelmed  whilst  the  others  look 
on." 

I  said,  ^*  I  admit  the  mountains  in  front  of  us  look 
very  forbidding,  but  it  is  ungrateful  of  you  to  call  them 
horrible  or  speak  of  groping  into  them,  for  they  suit 
the  Japanese  tactics,  armament  and  personnel  much 
better  than  those  of  the  Kussians,  and  after  all,  how- 
ever formidable  a  mountain  may  be,  it  can  usually  be 
turned." 

My  visitor  agreed,  and  added  that  the  attack  of 
July  31st  could  not  have  been  carried  out  unless  the 
mountains  had  furnished  a  screen  behind  which  the 
flanking  movemeut  could  be  made. 

I  asked  him  if  the  Guards  were  at  all  downcast  by 
their  failure  on  that  occasion  to  get  in  on  the  enemy's 
right.  He  replied,  **  On  the  contrary  ;  the  Chief  Staff 
Officer  of  the  Imperial  Guards,  in  reporting  the  losses 
of  the  Division,  added  a  remark  to  the  effect  that  it 
was  most  fortunate  that  the  enemy  had  defended  them- 
selves with   vigour,   as  the  Divisional    Commander, 


(S  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Lieutenant-General  Hasegawa,  had  thus  been  enabled 
to  test  the  quality  of  his  troops." 

KiNKAHOSHi,*  August  Sth,  1904. — Have  moved  with 
Kuroki  into  new  quarters  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Motienling.  Not  a  bad  little  house,  and  we  are  all 
busy  making  a  garden  and  transplanting  wild  flowers 
into  it.  This  afternoon  an  adjutant  in  the  Imperial 
Guards  told  me  that  Nogi  had  "  as  good  as  captured  " 
the  two  hills  on  the  Russian  extreme  right  at  Port 
Arthur,  within  5000  yards  of  the  harbour.  There  is 
now  only  one  line  of  fortifications  remaining  between 
Port  Arthur  town  and  the  Japanese.  A  furious 
battle  had  been  raging  all  the  night  of  the  7th,  and 
up  to  midday  to-day,  when  the  message  was  sent. 
lu  My  room  ie  a  J  of  Germ»  mix«l  bLuito  (m«i. 
up  for  Chinese  consumption  to  resemble  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  time-honoured  tins  used  by  a  famous 
English  firm),  and  two  bottles  of  champagne.  I  am 
on  my  honour  not  to  touch  these  until  Port  Arthur 
falls.  So  I  look  at  them  every  day  with  the  feelings 
of  a  ragged  urchin  who  flattens  his  nose  against  the 
plate-glass  window  of  a  pastry-cook's  shop.  I  now 
begin  to  have  hope,  and  I  asked  my  young  friend 
when  he  thought  I  might  put  away  the  causes  of  my 
hourly  temptation.  He  thinks  about  the  12th  instant, 
which  will  suit  me  very  well. 

KiNKAHOSHi,  August  9th. — ^Walked  over  with  an 
orderly  to  call  on  Vincent  and  the  foreign  officers 
attached  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Second  Division 
at  the  village  of  Tiensuitien.  Found  the  river  in  flood, 
and  practically  unfordable  on  foot.  On  the  other  side 
a  coolie  of  the  military  train  was  engaged  in  washing 

*  ChineBe,  Chinchiaputsu,  two  miles  south  of  Tiensuitien,  See 
Map  XXII. 


Reflections  by  the  Way  7 

a  shirt.  Seeing  my  difficulty  he  went  up  to  the  village 
and  brought  down  a  pony  which  he  rode  across  and 
offisred  to  me.  I  got  on  to  the  pony,  and  the  coolie 
led  me  over  with  great  difficulty,  as  the  rushing  water 
came  up  to  his  waist.  I  returned  by  the  help  of  the 
same  kind  man,  and  when  I  got  to  my  own  side  of  the 
river  I  offered  him  the  equivalent  of  five  shillings.  As 
soon  as  he  understood  that  I  wanted  to  tip  him  he 
simply  roared  with  laughter  and  utterly  declined  to 
have  anything  to  say  to  the  base  metal  which,  compared 
with  his  pay  of  1^.  a  day,  was  a  considerable  fortune. 
In  vain  the  orderly  I  had  brought  with  me  explained 
that  I  was  a  foreigner  who  did  not  understand  things, 
and  that  as  I  was  possessed  of  a  plethora  of  cash,  it 
might,  after  all,  be  as  well  to  humour  me.  He  replied, 
that  although  only  a  coolie  he  wore  the  military 
uniform,  and  his  heart  also  was  purely  that  of  a  soldier, 
and  so  I  had  to  let  him  go  back  across  the  river 
unrewarded,  except  by  my  heartfelt  thanks. 

On  my  return  to  Kinkahoshi,  I  found  that  an 
officer  of  the  Guards,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made 
at  Fenghuangcheng,  had  ridden  over  to  see  me.  In 
the  course  of  conversation  he  told  me  that  amongst  the 
miasses  of  correspondence  captured  on  July  31st  by  the 
Twelfth  Division  at  Tushuling  was  a  tabular  state- 
ment dated  Harbin,  July  3rd,  in  which  the  strength 
and  composition  of  the  Japanese  forces  is  duly  set 
forth.  Hagino  has  translated  it  into  Japanese,  and 
its  perusal  throws  light  on  much  that  has  hitherto 
been  obscure.  According  to  the  statement,  Kuroki's 
army  is  put  at  just  double  its  actual  strength.  It  is 
supposed  to  consist  of  six  Divisions  of  which  the 
strength,  the  names  of  most  of  the  commanders,  and 
all  the  regiments  are  given  in  detail.    Euroki  is  also 


I 
i 


8  A  Staff  Officbb's  Scrap-Book 

credited  with  an  independent  cavalry  brigade,  which, 
on  the  date  of  publication,  was  supposed  to  be  quartered 
at  SaimachL  One  of  the  imaginary  Divisions  is 
cantoned  at  Hamaton  by  the  Talu !  The  independent 
cavalry  brigade  is  a  magnificent  Russian  tribute  to  the 
impression  created  by  the  solitary  squadron  of  the 
Twelfth  Division!  Of  the  imposing  total  of  six 
Divisions,  three  were  shown  at  Fenghuangcheng  ;  one 
was  at  Antung,  one  at  Kuantienchen,  and  one,  as 
already  stated,  at  Hamaton.  The  Second  Army  was 
placed  with  its  four  Divisions  just  south  of  Nanshan 
and  at  Dalny,  whilst  the  Fourth  Army,  consisting  of 
three  Divisions,  was  at  Takushan  and  Siuyen.  (See 
Map  L,  voL  i.) 

Imagination  is  a  valuable  qualification  for  an 
intelligence  officer,  provided  it  is  kept  quite  clear  of 
statistics.  Once,  however,  fancy  is  permitted  to  play 
about  with  figures,  the  results  are  apt  to  be  disastrous. 
The  retreat  on  July  17th  is  now  easy  to  understand, 
and  if  Bennenkampf  has  truly  believed  that  there  was 
a  cavalry  brigade  at  Saimachi  and  a  Division  at 
Hamaton  he  may  well  be  excused  for  not  having 
made  more  vigorous  attempts  upon  our  communica- 
tions. 

Whilst  discussing  the  recent  fighting,  I  mentioned 
to  my  friend  the  remark  made  to  me  by  the  young 
doctor  of  Sokako,  to  the  effect  that  strong  anti- 
Bussian  feeling  accounted  to  some  extent  for  the 
intense  keenness  of  the  Japanese  rank  and  file.  Much 
to  my  interest  he  indorsed  the  doctor's  views  in  words 
almost  identical.  He  said,  ^^Our  army  will  always 
eagerly  go  forward  to  do  battle  with  whomsoever 
his  Majesty  the  Emperor  may  designate.  But  this 
Russian  war  is  certainly  an  exception,  in  so  far  that 


I 


Reflections  by  the  Way  9 

each  private  soldier  enters  into  it  with  burning  feelings 
of  personal  anger  which  are  a  legacy  of  all  the 
rapacity  and  deception  and  contempt  displayed  by 
E/Ussia  towards  Japan  for  a  long  time  past.  I  do 
not  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  our  men  would  fight  less 
courageously  against  other  nations,  but  I  do  agree 
with  the  doctor  in  thinking  that  in  such  a  case  we 
should  not  see  young  soldiers  denying  themselves  river 
water  when  consumed  with  thirst  lest  perchance  a  colic 
might  lose  them  even  one  single  chance  of  firing  off 
their  bullets  at  the  enemy." 

Kjmkahoshi,  Atiffust  Idth^  1904, — Pouring  with 
rain.  Doctor  Sugiura  has  been  delegated  by  head- 
quarters to  tell  me  that  on  the  10th  inst.  the  whole 
of  the  Russian  fleet  came  out  of  Port  Arthur  in  battle 
array  and  were  met  and  completely  defeated  by  Togo. 
The  Askoldy  Bayan^  Cesarewitch  escaped  to  Kiaochau  ; 
the  Novik  showed  a  clean  pair  of  heels  and  got  away. 
The  rest  of  the  enemy's  fleet  fled  back  into  Port 
Arthur.  More  than  this,  yesterday  at  daybreak 
Eamimura  met  the  Vladivostock  fleet  north  of  Tsushima 
and  sank  the  Rurihj  the  other  two  Russian  ships 
escaping  north.  Headquarters  are  overjoyed  and 
Sugiura  says  they  expect  that  Port  Arthur  will  fall 
in  three  or  four  days,  and  that  the  fleet  will  become 
the  spoil  of  the  conquerors.  Moreover,  a  fresh  army 
will  thus  be  released  to  reinforce  our  line  of  battle  at 
Liaoyang. 

After  Sugiura's  departure,  I  had  a  delightful  visit 
from  a  colonel  commanding  a  line  regiment,  an  old 
Fenghuangcheng  acquaintance.  He  tells  me  that 
twenty  years  ago  only  some  three  or  four  of  the  year's 
recruits  for  each  company  in  the  Japanese  army  were 
able  to  read  or  write.    The  officers,  therefore,  had  to 


10  A  Staff  Offioeb's  Scbap-Book 

set  themselves  to  be  schoolmasters  of  primary  schools, 
as  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  brains  of  the 
men  should  be  awakened  and  exercised  in  the  first 
instance ;  otherwise  it  was  useless  to  expect  them  to 
make  good  progress  with  then*  military  training. 
'*  Now,"  he  said,  "  every  single  recruit  who  joins  can 
read,  whilst,  at  the  very  most,  there  may  be  three  or 
four  who  cannot  write.  The  first  essential  to  the 
equipment  of  a  modern  soldier  is  a  good  education. 
The  Russian  Government,  in  order  to  maintain  the 
stability  of  its  despotism,  finds  it  undesirable  to 
educate  its  people,  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  on  military 
grounds  this  has  become  quite  necessary.  The  fact 
of  the  matter  is  that  conscription  is  only  applicable  to 
an  educated,  intensely  patriotic  nation  like  Japan* 
Otherwise  it  is  impossible  to  teach  the  soldier  all  that 
is  required  of  him  in  the  very  limited  time.  When 
England  is  educated  up  to  our  level,  then  she  can  have 
conscription,  if  she  cares  to  do  so,  but  at  present  she 
shows  her  great  wisdom  in  enlisting  only  men  of  a 
natural  martial  inclination,  and  in  giving  them  a  very 
thorough  training  before  they  are  passed  into  the 
reserves.  Conscription,  with  its  system  of  short  colour 
service,  and  masses  of  rusty  reserves  insufficiently 
welded  together  by  officers  and  N.C.O.s  of  the  reserve, 
is  capable  of  proving  a  broken  reed  in  time  of  trouble 
especially  if,  as  with  Russia  in  the  present  case,  the 
national  feeling  has  not  a  natural  warlike  bias.  Russia, 
above  all  nations,  should  have  provided  herself  with  a 
long-service  voluntarily  enlisted  army,  and  in  that 
case  we  should  have  encountered  a  very  diflFerent  type 
of  fighting  man  in  our  recent  battles." 

These  views  were  put  forward  with  a  sublime  un- 
consciousness which  disarmed  my  ruffled  pride.     Do 


Eeflections  by  thb  Way  11 

they  not,  after  all,  contain  more  than  a  grain  or  two 
of  truth  ?  Conscription  does  not  keep  the  uneducated 
man  long  enough  with  the  colours  to  make  him  fully 
capable  of  meeting  all  the  conditions  under  which 
modem  battles  must  be  fought.  These  conditions — 
the  magazine  rifle,  smokeless  powder,  wide  extensions, 
&c.  &c. — ^make  much  heavier  demands  upon  the  time, 
willingness  and  intelligence  of  the  recruit  than  at  any 
period  in  the  world's  history.  Simultaneously  all 
Continental  nations,  owing  to  popular  pressure,  are 
reducing  their  colour  service  to  an  extent  which  in 
the  old  days  would  have  seemed  to  constitute  a  militia 
standard.  Besides  being  an  infinitely  more  trustworthy 
support  to  a  Government  in  time  of  internal  trouble,  a 
long-service  voluntarily  enlisted  army  ought  also  to 
be  very  much  more  effective  in  the  field.  I  do  not 
forget  that  in  Russia  the  colour  service  is  exception- 
ally long ;  still,  it  is  not  long  enough,  taking  into 
consideration  the  protracted  winters  when  no  work  is 
done ;  the  slackness  with  which  duties  are  carried  out 
even  in  summer  and,  most  of  all,  the  intense  initial 
ignorance  of  the  raw  material. 

EiNKAHOSHi,  August  17th,  1904. — Still  pouring. 
Exercise  impossible.  Roaring  torrents  in  all  directions. 
There  is  talk  amongst  the  men  that  every  one  is  going 
on  to  half  rations.  I  shall  then  be  able  to  sympathise 
with  the  man  in  my  own  column  in  South  Africa  who, 
on  reading  the  order  thanking  the  force  for  their 
gallantry  and  announcing  the  necessity  for  a  further 
reduction  in  the  issue  of  beef  and  biscuit,  said,  *' Just 
the  old  story ;  full  compliments  and  half  rations." 

At  dinner  to-day  I  had  a  disappointment.  A  dish 
was  brought  forward  with  much  pomp,  which  excited 
my  keenest  hopes.     It  was  shaped  like  a  pyramid,  and 


12  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgbap-Book 

they  called  it  "  German  pudding."  It  turned  out  to 
be  mashed  potatoes  sweetened  with  sugar.  To  the 
Devil  with  all  such  puddings ! 

EiNKAHOSHi,  August  l%ih^  1904. — It  has  been  pour- 
ing in  torrents  ever  since  the  last  entry^  and  under 
such  conditions  my  official  report's  and  this  diary  have 
become  my  only  distractions. 

I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  at  odd  times 
lately  concerning  the  marked  distinction  the  Japanese 
make  between  a  commander  and  a  Staff  officer.  To 
them  the  two  classes  stand  as  sharply  contrasted  as  a 
bowler  does  to  a  batter.  Our  allies  never  confound 
commanders  and  Staff  officers  under  the  hackneyed 
label  of  "  able  officer."  Every  one  knows  the  qualifica- 
tions of  the  Staff  officer:  energy,  tact,  acciu*acy, 
erudition,  industry,  health  and  horsemanship ;  without 
which  last  two  all  the  others  may  be  lost  just  when 
they  are  most  wanted.  But  it  is  not  every  one  who 
knows  how  little,  and  yet  how  very  much,  the 
Japanese  require  of  their  commanders.  They  seem 
to  insist  on  one  quality  only,  a  quality  which  bulks 
in  their  eyes  so  largely  that  items  such  as  reputation, 
judgment,  character  and  even  innate  love  of  fighting 
fall  into  quite  a  secondary  position.  **  Du  ccdme ;  il  a 
du  ccdme,*^  say  the  French-speaking  Japanese  when 
praising  a  commander.  **  Er  ist  kalthlUtig"  say  the 
speakers  of  German. 

Some  three  weeks  ago,  discussing  with  me  the 
action  of  the  Twelfth  Division  at  Chaotao  on  the  1 9th 
of  July,  a  distinguished  young  Staff  officer  said: 
"Before  the  attack  I  was  very  nervous;  terribly 
nervous.  I  could  not  sleep  at  night,  and  all  the  Staff 
were  restless  and  disturbed.  But  Kuroki  was  not 
troubled.     Oh  no ;   he  was  quite  tranquil  I "     I  did 


A  Good  Comrade 


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Beflbchons  bt  the  Wat  13 

not  take  this  too  literally,  as  I  know  the  Staff  in  their 
unwavering  loyalty  to  Kiu*oki  are  capable  of  making 
an  imputation  against  themselves,  provided  at  the 
same  time  they  are  able  to  do  honour  to  their  chief. 
Still,  the  remark  throws  a  light  on  the  Japanese 
standard  for  a  general's  qualifications.  I  have  put  it 
to  Japanese  officers  that  there  is  no  more  difficult 
quality  to  recognise  than  that  of  true  imperturbability. 
They  assent  readily,  and  admit  that  until  a  man  has 
been  tried  by  fire  it  is  not  possible  to  say  whether  he 
will  be  prepared  to  stake  10,000  human  lives  with  a 
stout  heart. 

It  seems  then  that  the  supreme  qualification  for  a 
Japanese  General,  as  understood  by  his  fellow 
countr3rmen,  is  a  philosophy  which  enables  him  to  be 
calm  under  any  circumstances  and  a  record  which 
guarantees  that  he  possesses  this  attribute  actually, 
and  not  only  in  seeming.  Mere  knowledge  of  regula- 
tions, languages,  military  history,  science,  are  qualities 
which  should  be  embodied  in  a  Chief  of  the  Staff  who 
acts  for  the  commander,  just  as  a  shorthand  writer 
acts  for  a  financier.  This  is  the  theory.  But  in 
practice,  brains  will  tell,  and  the  power  of  the  Greneral 
Staff  is  becoming  enormous.  Kuroki's  method  is  in 
ordinary  times  to  leave  as  much  as  possible  to  his  Staff. 
He  stands  by,  cool  and  aloof,  and  lends  the  great 
prestige  of  his  name  and  reputation  when  orders  are 
given  and  arrangements  are  made.  His  true  value 
lies  in  doing  little  beyond  taking  responsibility  as  long 
as  things  go  well.  In  a  supreme  emergency,  as  I  shall 
more  than  once  have  occasion  to  point  out,  he  is  capable 
of  taking  the  greatest  risks  entailing  the  heaviest 
responsibility,  but  generally  speaking  he  is  content  to 
let  the  Staff  carry  on  without  too  much  interference. 


^^^'^^g^^^mmmm^mm^^^^^^W^^tm 


14  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

At  this  particular  moment  Kuroki  assumes  much  the 
same  attitude  to  his  General  Staff  as  the  Mikados 
used  to  do  to  their  Shoguns.  The  Japanese  mind 
seems  readily  to  lend  itself  to  the  system  of  one  man 
supporting  all  the  weight,  pomp,  and  responsibility  of 
a  position,  whilst  another  man  works  free  and  un- 
trammelled in  the  shadow  afforded  by  that  latent 
power. 

It  is  extraordinarily  interesting  to  a  foreigner 
to  see  the  organisation  in  this  transitional  state.  If 
the  same  type  of  Generals  and  the  same  type  of 
General  Staff  officers  continued  to  be  appointed  for 
many  years  to  come,  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that 
the  commander  would  recede  more  and  more  into  the 
background,  whilst  the  Chief  of  the  General  Staff 
would  step  more  and  more  to  the  front.  But  after 
this  war  some  of  the  new  type  of  highly  educated 
Staff  officers  will  be  senior  enough  to  be  made  com- 
manders. It  will  be  curious  to  see  if  they  initiate  a 
different  principle,  or  whether  the  Japanese  will  prefer 
to  perpetuate  the  present  arrangement  of  keeping  many 
of  the  moving  spirits  in  the  backgrotmd. 

Meanwhile,  at  its  present  stage  of  development,  the 
system  works  well.  I  take  it  that  Kuroki,  with  his 
renown,  his  popularity  in  Japan,  and  his  perfect, 
philosophical  calm,  really  does  relieve  the  more  nervous, 
modern  General  Staff  of  a  weight  of  responsibility 
which  might  otherwise  to  some  extent  paralyse  their 
plans.  I  do  not  take  it  that  the  Japanese  think  that 
education  necessarily  impairs  the  quality  of  calmness. 
What  they  seem  to  think  is  that  calmness,  like  noble 
birth,  is  quite  independent  of  cleverness,  and  that 
where  the  qualities  can  be  recognised,  the  clever  man 
should  be  made  the  servant  of  the  imperturbable 


Reflections  bt  the  Way  15 

philosopher,  especially  if  this  latter  has  the  good  luck 
to  have  been  bom  in  the  purple. 

I  feel,  of  course,  that  even  this  combination  of 
strength  and  ability  does  not  by  any  means  complete 
the  category  of  the  virtues  required  of  the  head  of  an 
army  in  the  field.  There  is  the  imaginative  flair  to 
which  mountains  offer  no  concealment ;  the  eye  for 
country  which  is  inborn  and  can  yet  be  so  greatly 
improved  by  practice  in  war ;  to  the  quickness  in  seizing 
an  opportunity ;  the  iron  character  which  brushes  all 
objections  aside,  and  the  engaging  personality  which 
fascinates  subordinates  and  half  disarms  even  a  jealous 
rival 

It  is  strange  indeed  how  little  the  Japanese  are 
influenced  by  the  personality  of  a  commander.  Indi- 
vidualism is  a  western,  not  an  eastern,  product.  I 
doubt  very  much  if  the  average  Japanese  has  the 
capacity  for  hero-worship  of  living  men.  So  far  as  I 
can  discover,  there  is  less  personal  enthusiasm  for 
their  superior  commanders  amongst  Japanese  soldiers 
than  I  should  have  expected,  admirably  qualified  as 
these  commanders  are  to  inspire  the  warmest  affection. 
There  is  the  same  indifference  to  the  divisional  and 
brigade  conmianders,  and  even  to  regimental  or  bat- 
talion commanders.  The  old  feudal  feeling  has  become 
transformed  into  respect  for  the  officers  as  a  caste, 
and  not  to  the  officers  as  individuals.  Japanese 
discipline  seems  to  produce  a  curious  quality  of 
impersonality.  I  firmly  believe  that  if  Kuroki  changed 
places  with  Nogi,  either  army  would  be  delighted  to 
receive  the  distinguished  leader  of  the  other.  Perhaps 
I  am  mistaken,  but  at  any  rate  I  am  not  writing  all 
this  down  without  having  first  taken  thought  and 
trouble  in  forming  an  opinion.     Comparing  Japanese 


16  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

subalterns  with  those  of  other  nations,  I  should  say 
that  they  are  more  bound  up  in  their  profession  and 
have  fewer  distractions  than  their  western  conjrhres. 
There  are  few  virtues,  however,  which  have  not 
some  compensating  weakness  to  counterbalance  them, 
and  this  devotion  to  duty  is  no  exception  to  the 
rule. 

As  far  as  I  can  grasp  the  characters  of  the  subordi- 
nate Japanese  officers,  they  seem  to  be  extremely  good 
at  carrying  out  orders,  but  are  not  distinguished  by 
any  exceptional  self-confidence  when  acting  on  their 
own  initiative  in  ordinary  matters,  although  I  am 
bound  to  add  that  their  apparent  want  of  moral 
courage  in  such  respects  often  seems  to  be  transformed 
into  boldness  when  they  come  actually  into  contact 
with  the  enemy.  A  few  are  very  clever,  but,  generally 
speaking,  they  find  full  scope  for  their  interests  in 
looking  after  their  men  and  in  the  thorough  perform- 
ance of  their  daily  work.  According  to  our  ideas,  they 
live  on  very  familiar  terms  with  the  rank  and  file.  In 
one  village  not  far  fi:om  here,  the  officer  commanding 
a  battalion  is  quartered  in  the  same  house  with 
eighteen  of  his  men,  and  I  have  seen  a  lieutenant 
playing  "  5^0  "  with  his  own  private  soldiers,  though  I 
doubt  if  this  was  quite  correct,  even  according  to  the 
Japanese  standard. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  falling  off  in  discipline 
such  as  would  inevitably  result  in  our  army,  and  still 
more  so  in  most  continental  armies,  if  such  familiarity 
was  permitted.  The  saluting  is  splendid,  just  as 
smart  and  as  good  as  it  was  in  Tokio,  and  the  severity 
and  sharpness  of  the  orders  and  remarks  which  pass  on 
duty  show  that  the  officers  have  in  no  wise  been  com- 
pelled, by  the  hardships  or  promiscuity  of  active 


Reflections  by  the  Way  17 

service,  to  relax  in  the  smallest  degree  their  severe 
and  rigid  disciplinary  code. 

The  fact  that  the  Japanese  military  forces  have  been 
strictly  modelled  on  the  Prussian  organisation  helps  to 
explain  some  of  its  characteristics.  One  of  the  most 
striking  features  of  the  Japanese,  as  of  the  Prussian, 
army,  and  a  great  source  of  its  efficiency,  is  to  be 
found  in  its  indiflference  to  the  personality  of  its 
leaders,  whilst  retaining  a  full  sense  of  respect  for  any 
qualified  leader  as  such.  This  quality  alone  is  almost 
sufficient  to  ensure  their  success  against  hostile  forces 
conunanded  by  mediocrities.  For  the  Western  Euro- 
peans as  well  as  the  Russians  follow  the  individual  and 
not  the  mere  epaulet,  and  unless  this  individual  com- 
mands their  respect  and  admiration  they  will  not,  and 
cannot,put  forth  their  full  strength.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  a  Bussian  Skobeleff  were  now  to  appear  upon  the 
scene — ^brilliant,  swift,  daring — adored  by  his  troops 
and  possessing  the  true  military  imaginative  instinct, 
then  I  believe  the  Japanese  might  find  that  there  was 
an  element  in  Western  warfare  with  which  they  have 
not  yet  been  called  upon  to  count. 

KiNKAHOSHi,  August  19«A,  1904. — Still  pouring. 
The  men  are  being  put  on  short  rations,  and  the 
Chinese  fear  that  if  the  unseasonable  deluge  continues 
their  ripening  crops  will  be  rusted.  After  breakfast, 
I  was  handed  a  present  from  Tokio — a  bottle  of  beer 
and  a  copy  of  a  book  in  a  white  cover,  "  Bushido,  the 
Soul  of  Japan,"  by  Inazo  Nitobe.  Every  military 
attach^  with  the  First  Army  gets  a  similar  gift,  which 
comes  firom  Army  Headquarters  in  Tokio. 

Some  drafts  from  the  Second  Division  are  marching 
past  the  house.  They  are  the  cream  of  the  young 
manhood  of  the  north-east  of  Japan ;  physically  tho 

II  B 


18  A  Staff  , Officer's  Scrap-Book 

pick  of  the  whole  island,  going  to  join  their  fellows  and 
keep  the  dwindling  cadres  up  to  full  strength. 

Compare  this  homogeneous,  complete  organisation, 
not  only  complete  at  the  starts  but  with  all  its  apparatus 
in  good  order  for  remaining  complete  under  all  con- 
ditions— compare  it  with  our  patchwork,  extemporised, 
motley  crew  of  regulars,  colonials,  militia,  volunteers, 
yeomanry  I  How  have  we  carried  through  the  great 
things  we  have  done  in  the  past,  and  how  are  we  going 
to  continue  to  do  all  the  great  things  we  mean  to  do 
in  the  future?  Partly,  I  take  it,  because  in  each 
Englishman,  whether  toWn  or  country  bred,  there 
exists,  atrophied  perhaps,  but  still  living,  a  sense,  a 
*sentiment,  a  memory,  which  vibrates  to  the  stirring 
sound  of  the  call  to  arms.  Partly  because  of  our  cap- 
tains and  subalterns,  so  many  of  whom  possess  natural 
aptitude  for  leading,  and  who  can  thus  carry  not  only 
their  own  countrymen  but  even  alien  races  with  them 
in  times  of  difficulty  and  danger. 

The  drafts  are  still  marching  by.  Poor  fellows,  they 
would  be  a  sad  sight  for  their  mothers  to-day  !  Here 
is  true  war  shorn  of  its  tinsel  trappings.  Woebegone 
lads,  pale  and  hollow-cheeked,  plastered  from  head 
to  foot  with  mud,  whilst  the  pitiless  rain  streams  off 
their  caps  and  capes  in  miniature  cascades  as  they 
squelch  through  the  sticky  clay  or  ford  the  torrents 
which  sweep  across  the  road. 

Has  any  one  ever  considered  the  extraordinary  differ- 
ence in  the  conditions  under  which  men  face  death  in 
battles  on  sea  and  on  land  ?  If  the  bluejacket  feels  a 
bit  hot,  he  can  take  off  his  blue  jacket.  If  he  feels 
cold,  he  slips  on  a  sweater.  When  the  enemy  is  sig* 
nailed  he  is  ordered  (under  the  flag  of  the  Bising  Sun) 
to  change  his  underclothing  lest  perchance  a  shred  of 


EEFLlKTriONS   BY   THE   WaY  19 

foul  linen  be  carried  into  a  wound.  After  this,  he 
may  BtiU  have  time  to  make  all  snug  within  by  a  nice 
hot  cup  of  tea  or  a  tot  of  saki.  Should  he  get  wounded 
there  is  a  doctor  at  his  elbow.  He  has  no  temptation 
to  run  away.  Only  its  own  commander  can  put  a  ship 
to  flight.  There  was  a  friend  of  mine  who  when  he 
was  a  boy  used  to  know  an  old  pensioner  who  had 
been  a  sergeant  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  Over  and 
over  again  the  old  man  had  to  tell  his  blood  and 
thunder  story  to  the  eager  boy.  Time  after  time  this 
boy  asked  the  veteran,  "  And  did  you  not  want  to  run 
away?"  To  which  invariably  the  same  answer  was 
returned,  "  Where  was  I  to  run  to  ?  "  This  is  the 
precise  position  of  the  sailor,  with  all  its  advantages 
as  well  as  its  one  obvious  drawback. 

On  the  other  hand,  think  of  the  soldier  of  an  in- 
fantry battalion,  half  dead  with  the  fatigue  of  a  night 
march  carried  out  in  some  infernal  extreme  of  climate, 
wet  and  shivering,  or  exhausted  with  heat  and  thirst ; 
scrambling  up  mountains  carrying  50  or  60  lb.  on 
his  back  and  with  hundreds  of  people  shooting  at  him ; 
charging  the  enemy,  coming  under  fire  of  the  second 
line;  his  captain  killed,  his  subalterns  and  colour- 
sergeant  wounded  ;  no  difficulty  now  in  shirking ;  lots 
of  opportunity  to  skulk — ^lots  of  temptation ;  but  no, 
on  he  goes;  in  his  path  flows  a  river,  its  waters 
whipped  white  by  the  bullets ;  never  a  pause — onwards 
is  the  word — up  to  his  armpits  in  the  water — he 
reaches  the  further  bank;  he  fixes  his  bayonet,  and 
amidst  the  rip  of  rifles  and  crackling  showers  of 
shrapnel  raises  the  loud  exultant  cheer  and  gets  right 
home.  Well,  each  service  has  special  hardships  no 
doubt.  The  seaman  has  the  consolation  that  if  the 
ship  founders  all  go  down  together  ;  the  landsman  has 


so  A  Stafv  Of<ickb^s  3cftAP-BoOK 

anyway  solid  mother  earth  under  his  weary  feet.  I'ood 
and  conveniences  are  not  everything  and  life  on  board 
a  torpedo-boat  is,  I  believe,  not  exactly  a  bed  of  roses^ 
but  still,  honour,  great  honour,  to  the  soldier  of  the 
line,  say  I,  for  on  his  head  he  does  it)  God  bless 
hiau 

EjpncAHOSHi,  At(,gvM  21s«,  1904. — Driselilig.  Pei> 
sistent  rumours  of  an  early  advance.  I  hear  that  at 
Poi*t  Arthur,  Nogi  has  secured  a  footing  on  an  important 
col  between  two  hills  which  overlook  Pigeon  Bay 
on  the  one  side  and  a  peimanent  fort  on  the  other. 
Also,  that  on  the  Japanese  left,  half  of  the  crest  of  a 
hill  has  been  captured,  a  capture  which,  in  the 
Chinese  war,  was  the  immediate  precursor  of  the  fall 
of  the  citadel. 

The  Headquarters  Staff  are  amused  at  some 
European  appreciations  of  our  situation,  which  have 
found  their  way  into  the  Japanese  newspapers.  It 
seems  that,  on  the  map,  we  have  already  reached  a 
spot  north  or  north-east  of  Mukden.  The  critics  have 
evidently  not  paused  to  figure  out  the  enormous 
nimiber  of  carts  we  should  require  to  march  from  our 
base  to  the  Talu  to  attain  such  dangerous  isolation. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  a  Japanese  soldier  must 
have  his  pound  of  rice  per  diem,  for,  if  man  does 
not  live  by  bread  alone,  neither  can  he  continue  to 
exist  for  long  on  patriotism  and  water.  We  are 
not  little  tin  soldiers,  but  must  draw  our  rations, 
or  die ! 

I  have  read  ''Bushido"  and  drunk  the  bottle  of 
beer.  I  am  glad  I  have  read  the  book,  and  sorry  I 
have  finished  the  beer.  Mr.  Inazo  Nitobe  writes 
admirably,  and  his  work  has  furnished  me,  as  it  must 
every  one  who  reads  it,  with  much  matter  for  thought. 


f^^^m'^m'^  i^i  iL  ..  ^^^^mm^mmm^m^K^ss^am^BaseamBm!^. 


Keflbctions  by  the  Way  21 

The  main  question  which  each  of  us  must  ask  him- 
self is  whether  a  feudal  code  can  possibly  hold  its 
own  against  the  exigencies  of  modem  life.  I  yield 
to  no  one  in  my  admiration  for  the  knightly  virtues 
of  the  old  Samurai.  But  the  Samurai  are  already 
men  of  yesterday,  and  so,  if  the  old  Bushido  lingers 
awhile,  it  is  as  a  transient  shadow  falling  athwart  a 
threshold  from  which  the  guest  has  already  taken 
his  first  irrevocable  step  on  a  far  journey. 

I  study  the  Japanese  from  morning  to  night ;  I  talk 
to  them,  walk  with  them,  eat  with  them,  and 
drink  with  them  also,  whenever  there  is  anything 
worth  drinking.  I  am  watching  them  all  the  time, 
for  I  have  little  else  to  do.  As  a  result  of  my  patient 
investigations,  everything  about  these  strangers  is 
becoming  so  obscure  and  contradictory  that  I  can 
only  marvel  at  the  temerity  I  displayed  in  dashing 
down  what  purported  to  be  an  analysis  of  their 
characters  before  I  had  lived  with  them  a  month. 

For  instance :  the  modesty  of  the  Japanese  is  a 
trait  which  above  all  others  has  won  my  profound 
and  unstinted  respect.  Never  has  there  been  so  much 
as  a  tinge  of  exidtation  or  what,  in  its  most  vulgar 
form,  our  colonials  call  "  blowing,"  about  the  officers, 
non-commissioned  officers  or  men  of  the  First  Army. 
There  have  been  many  unconscious  revelations  of  a 
sense  of  superiority  to  the  European,  but  I  cannot 
call  to  mind  one  single  occasion  of  a  sober  Japanese 
making  a  consciously  swaggering  remark,  even  in  the 
triumphant  reaction  immediately  after  a  victory. 

It  has  always  been  a  special  pleasure  to  recognise 
and  do  homage  to  so  generous,  high  and  knightly 
a  quality,  but  now  a  comer  of  the  veil  has  been  uplifted, 
and  lo.  I  seem  to  perceive  a  figure  11^.^  that  of  Pride 


.«t_J-"^*k.  "fi 


22  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scrap-Book 

sitting  throned  upon  the  Japanese  heart  in  great  aloof- 
ness. The  Japanese  do  not  boast  after  a  victory  because 
they  are  incapable  of  imagining  for  one  moment  that 
they  are  not  going  to  win.  Bad  men  may  bet  on 
certainties,  only  fools  would  boast  about  them.  I  am  not 
a  theologian,  and  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  say  whether 
this  quality  is  to  be  ranked  amongst  the  cardinal  virtues 
or  the  deadly  sins.  Certainly  self-reliance  was  con- 
sidered by  the  Bomans  a  virtue  of  the  first  order. 
Possimt  quia  posse  videntur.  But  I  am  siure,  never- 
theless, that  whatever  the  quality  may  be,  it  is  not 
modesty. 

Another  quality  for  which  I  have  been  anxiously  on 
the  watch  is  that  of  gratitude — the  capacity  for  grati- 
tude. Here  again  in  the  midst  of  my  heart-searching 
endeavours  to  reconcile  conflicting  evidences,  I  stumbled 
against  that  same  stony  figure  of  Pride  barring  the 
way  to  meek  and  gentle  gratitude  which  otherwise 
would  be  so  frequent  and  welcome  a  visitor  to  the 
Japanese  heart.  Our  allies  are  always  truly  and  un- 
feignedly  thankful  for  small  mercies.  An  act  of  con- 
sideration or  politeness  or  generosity  or  hospitality 
they  will  repay,  if  they  can,  fourfold.  But  weightier 
obligations  are  supported  by  them,  it  seems  to  me, 
nobly  perhaps,  but  with  eflfort  and  diflElculty.  In 
writing  thus  I  am  thinking  of  four  or  five  things,  big 
things  which  have  come  under  my  own  observation. 
I  believe  the  natural  instinct  of  the  Japanese 
would  be  to  acknowledge  fully  and  eagerly  any 
obligations  they  are  under  to  the  West  were  it  not  that, 
in  the  case  of  some  men,  pride  throttles  the  intention 
before  it  can,  in  any  way,  declare  itself. 

My  little  Bushido  book  says  nothing  about  either 
gratitude  or  modesty,  except  on  one  occasion  when 


Reflections  by  the  Way  23 

modesty  is  said  to  be  an  important  ingredient  of  the 
quality  of  politeness.  The  Japanese  are  certainly  very 
proud  of  their  politeness,  and  although  I  doubt  very 
much  whether  modesty  has  anything  to  do  with  it,  the 
politeness  is  no  doubt  very  real  Politeness  and 
pugnacity  can  co-existin  a  Japanese  to  an  extent  Europe 
has  not  witnessed  since  the  days  when  French  and 
English  had  abowing  match  atFontenoy  asto  who  should 
have  the  exquisitepleasure  of  discharging  the  firstvoUey- 
The  man  who  is  capable  of  considering  his  '^  P's  "  and 
"  Q's"  when  hovering  on  the  brink  of  eternity  makes, 
a  good  comrade  when  tiger  hunting  is  to  the  fore,  and 
I  feel  myself  at  last  on  safe  ground  when  I.declare  that 
the  world  has  not  yet  seen,  and  certainly  will  never  see 
again,  a  race  more  devoted  than  the  Japanese  to  all 
ceremonious  observances.  To  say  that  a  Japanese 
gentleman  would  die  sooner  than  be  impolite  is  inade- 
quate.    He  would  rather  die  a  thousand  deaths. 

Life  is  not  ordinarily  a  procession  of  great  emer- 
gencies, but  even  the  actions  of  every  day  gain  some 
dignity  from  the  virtue— or  shall  I  call  it  the  accom- 
plishment ?— of  la  politesse.  As  a  Briton,  I  may  claim 
the  melancholy  satisfaction  of  discoiirsing  quite  impar- 
tially on  the  subject.  Whether  it  is  their  rough 
natural  independence  of  habit  or  the  want  of  that  dis- 
cipline which  is  entailed  by  military  service,  or  merely 
because  their  Governments  have  shirked  paying  the 
extra  twopence  for  the  schooling  of  their  youngsters, 
the  fact  remains  that,  from  the  standpoints  of  conti- 
nental Europe  or  of  Asia,  both  Americans  and 
British  are  hopeless  barbarians  in  all  that  concerns 
etiquette. 

This  is  rather  a  pity,  seeing  that,  although  super- 
ficial politeness  may  be  no  more  than  a  useful  social 


IW^"'W^^*»P^^»Wf^WPi^*^-'  m I 


24  A  Staff  OFFiCBaEi's  Scrap-Book 

lubricant,  it  becomes  a  positive  quality  of  no  mean 
value  when  it  is  of  the  class  which  can  be  warranted 
to  wear  well  under  stress  of  constant  discomfort  and 
hardship.  Such  a  warranty  I  gladly  give  to  all 
Japanese,  although  I  must  firmly  refiise  it  to  the 
average  continental  European.  Japanese  suavity  and 
good  manners  are  solid,  and  will  stand  any  amount  of 
rough  usage,  whereas  the  urbane  smiles  and  bows  of 
Europe  are  a  mere  veneer,  good  for  drawing-rooms 
and  clubs,  but  hardly  to  be  depended  on  to  stand  a 
shower  of  rain  or  a  journey  in  an  ordinary  railway 
train.  True  politeness  makes  an  easy  travelling  com- 
panion ;  spurious  politeness  is  much  worse  than  no 
politeness  once  it  is  transplanted  into  uncongenial 
surroundings. 

Thus  it  comes  that  if  I  have  to  share  my  tiny  room 
with  a  stranger,  I  much  prefer  a  Japanese  officer  to 
the  citizen  of  any  other  country  but  my  own.  At 
times,  it  is  true,  the  unfailing  ceremony  so  much 
oppresses  my  untutored  mind  that  I  long  to  do  or  say 
something  irretrievably  vulgar  and  shocking.  But  I 
recognise  all  the  time  that  I  am  wrong,  and  that 
manners  mend  the  man  even  if  they  do  not  make 
him. 

I  have  said  that  Japanese  poUteness  is  more  genuine 
and  deep-rooted  than  the  European  variety,  but  I 
have  not  yet  made  a  very  necessary  qualification  to 
the  effect  that  the  Japanese  type,  though  true  and 
permanent  of  its  kind,  is  different  in  some  respects 
from  that  of  the  Western  world.  For  if  there  is  a 
conflict  between  an  engagement  to  an  absent  friend 
and  the  claims  of  one  actually  present,  the  code  requires 
that  the  former  should  absolutely  give  way. 

The  most  undeniable  of  all  the  virtues  vaunted  in 


Eeflections  by  the  Way  25 

Bushido  are  the  fortitude  which  welcomes  death  and 
the  honour  which  disdains  gold.  I  have  no  need  to 
say  much  more  about  a  courage  to  which  each  succes- 
sive battle  bears  eloquent  witness.  It  is  not  precisely 
a  counterpart  of  Western  valour.  There  is  some  philo- 
sophy and  passivity  about  it;  more  conscious  self- 
sacrifice  ;  less  Berserker  joy  of  battle  and  longing  to 
do  some  glorious  act.  All  Japanese  soldiers  go  into 
battle  expecting  *  and  prepared  to  conquer  and  die  ; 
brave  British  soldiers  go  into  battle  hopeful  and 
prepared  to  conquer  or  die.  There  is  a  mighty 
difference  between  the  two.  Japanese  officers  have 
constantly  to  explain  to  their  men  that  they  must 
not  consider  the  main  object  of  a  battle  is  to  get 
killed ;  British  officers  have  no  occasion  thus  to 
admonish  their  men,  who,  although  they  are  aware 
that  in  all  probability  many  will  bite  the  dust,  are  each 
individually  of  the  opinion  that  they  will  manage  to 
pull  through.  The  faces  of  the  two  races  as  they 
advance  to  the  attack  wear  very  different  expressions. 
But  I  feel  that  no  one  who  has  not  seen  for  himself 
will  ever  understand  me  if  I  try  to  go  more  deeply  into 
these  strange  things. 

I  will  only  add,  then,  that  it  displays  the  most 
gross  misconception  of  the  truth  to  write,  as  some 
continental  authorities  are  apparently  writing,  about 
Japanese  fanaticism.  As  one  who  has  some  acquaint- 
ance with  the  ghazi,  I  may  permit  myself  to  be 
dogmatic  here.  In  some  cases,  Japanese  patriotism 
may  take  the  form  of  a  deep-rooted  dislike  to 
foreigners ;  in  others  it  may  assume  the  guise  of  an 
overweening  contempt  for  everything  outside  their 
own  islands.  But  if  such  feelings  are  fanatical,  then 
surely  John  Bull  himself  is  a  ghazi  of  the  most  rabid 


26  A  Staff  Offiobb's  Scrap-Book 

type,  which  is  absurd.  The  one  and  only  point  of 
superficial  resemblance  between  the  fanatic  and  the 
Japanese  soldier  is  the  positive  hope  often  cherished 
by  both  that  they  may  be  privileged  to  die  on  the 
battlefield.  The  apparent  similarity  will  not,  however, 
bear  close  examiilation.  The  motives  of  the  ghazi  are 
selfish.  He  hopes  by  his  act  to  gain  access  to  a  very 
material  paradise  where  he  may  flirt  with  hosts  of 
houris.  The  motives  of  the  Japanese  are  as  purely 
impersonal  as  it  is  possible  for  those  of  a  human  being 
to  be.  Though  troubling  himself  little  about  a  future 
life,  he  has  a  dim  idea  that  if  killed  in  action,  his  spirit 
will  be  aware  of  the  gratitude  the  Emperor  and  the 
nation  will  bear  him  for  having  sacrificed  himself  on 
their  behalf.  He  longs  to  die  for  his  country ;  not  in 
order  that  he  himself  may  reap  some  glorious  reward, 
but  in  the  hope  that  he  may  be  worthy  of  those  who 
have  preceded  him,  and  that  his  example  may  use- 
fully guide  the  unknown  generations  who  are  to  follow 
him  in  the  hereafter. 

No  Western  can  quite  understand  these  extra- 
ordinary soldiers :  at  one  moment  cold,  distant, 
reserved,  suspicious  stoics ;  at  another,  merry  laughing 
children ;  and  then  again,  resigned,  sad,  "  determined- 
to-die  "  heroes.  But  one  thing  at  least  is  quite  certain : 
the  Japanese  Samurai  may  be  pbilosophersi  they  most 
assuredly  are  not  fanatics. 

So  much  for  the  Japanese  soldier's  depreciation  of 
life,  now  for  his  disdain  for  pelf. 

Few  even  of  the  military  coolies  with  the  Second 
Division  will  consent  to  accept  a  tip  either  small  or 
great  for  service  rendered,  and  a  full  private  would 
be  infinitely  insulted  by  the  offer  of  a  present,  no 
matter  whether  it  consisted  of  one  silver  yen  or  a  bag 


BEFLBOnONS  BY  THE   WaY  27 

of  gold.  I  admit  I  never  tried  them  with  the  bag  of 
gold,  but  I  am  certain  that,  if  I  did  so,  over  18,000  of 
the  14,000  men  with  the  Second  Division  would  refuse 
the  offer,  some  with  horror  and  indignation,  others 
with  amusement  and  contempt.  Scorn  for  money  is  a 
piece  of  pure  Bushido,  or  Samurai,  tradition,  which  has 
transplanted  itself,  apparently  without  too  much 
difficulty,  from  feudalism  into  the  army.  Bat  the 
merchants,  canteen  men,  photographers,  and  other 
civilian  camp  followers,  are  as  ready  to  turn  a  dis- 
honest penny  as  their  prototypes  of  South  Africa, 
where  the  moral  atmosphere  was  not  exceptionally 
bracing.  Also,  although  private  soldiers  ai'e  generally 
immaculate  in  their  honesty,  there  are  signs  here  and 
there  amongst  individuals  of  higher  status  that  money 
is  no  longer  the  mere  dross  it  was  to  their  ancestors, 
and  that  they  might  not  in  all  cases  be  too  scrupulous 
as  to  how  it  was  procured.  True,  anything  I  have 
noticed  in  this  respect  has  been  on  a  very  petty  scale, 
and  I  am  convinced  the  main  channels  along  which 
run  the  public  moneys  of  the  Japanese  are  kept  scru- 
pulously sweet  and  clean.  The  soldier  seems  to  be 
endowi  with -a  most  delicate  instinct  which  warns 
him  that  any  tampering,  or  even  want  of  due  economy, 
with  public  funds  is  a  sin  against  patriotism — against 
his  country.  The  Western  man  is  inclined  to  be 
more  lax  where  Gk)vemment  is  the  keeper  of  the 
purse ;  the  feeling  of  the  Japanese  is  precisely 
the  opposite-  But  I  wonder,  in  view  of  small  signs 
which  have  come  to  my  personal  notice,  how 
long  the  army  will  be  able  to  maintain  a  different 
and  loftier  standard  from  their  brethren  in  civil  h'fe  ? 
Has  the  noble  tree  transplanted  from  feudalism 
truly  struck  its  roots  down  into  the  new,  rich  soil. 


28  A  Staff  Officeb's  Sobap-Book 

or  is  it  destined  soon  to  wither  and  die  under 
the  strange  conditions,  quite  foreign  to  its  original 
growth,  which  now  surround  it  ?  I  pray  myself  that 
it  may  endure  for  ever,  but  there  is  a  tendency,  an 
inclination,  just  making  itself  visible  to  a  friendly 
observer,  which  will  need  the  close  attention  of  the 
Japanese  nation. 

If  the  transition  from  the  status  of  Bushido  to  the 
status  of  industrialism  had  been  more  gentle  and  gradual, 
it  would  then,  I  believe,  have  been  easier  for  a  Samurai 
permanently  to  transfer  some  of  his  soldierly  ideas  of 
honour  into  the  service  of  Mammon.  But  the  plunge 
has  been  too  violent  and,  in  this  year  of  grace  1904,  the 
Japanese  knig:ht,  shorn  of  his  twin  souls,  his  swords,  has 
had  his  heart  swept  and  garnished  in  preparation  for  an 
entirely  fresh  ideal  of  life.  Only  a  few  selected,  most 
valued  pieces  of  the  old  knightly  armoury  have  been 
temporarily  conserved,  and  it  is  these  which  have 
rendered  the  descendants  of  the  Samurai  invincible  in 
the  field.  But  the  emblematic  swords  are  gone  never 
to  return,  and  I  very  much  fear  that  the  spiritual 
attributes  of  Bushido  will  not  long  outlive  them. 

What  is  to  take  their  place  ?  Is  it  possible  for  a 
non-Christian  nation  to  borrow  Christian  ideals  ? 

Do  we  Christians  offer  such  an  example  of  the 
vivifying  effects  of  our  own  ideals  as  to  encourage  a 
new  nation  to  adopt  them  ? 

But  if  Christianity  is  to  be  rejected  by  the  Japanese, 
and  if  Confucius  is  worn  out,  are  living,  burning 
beliefs  to  be  replaced  by  a  cold  copybook  code  of 
morals  based  on  such  maxims  as  **  Honesty  is  the  best 
policy "  ?  Can  a  great  nation  be  evolved  from  so 
unspiritual  and  earthly  a  basis  ?  We  shall  see ; 
Japan  may  have  as  many  surprises  for  us  in  the 


Replbctions  by  the  Wjly  29 

foture  as  she  has  had  in  the  past.  It  is  not  possible 
to  ima^ne  a  more  tremendous  issue.  Will  industrial 
Japan  succeed  in  grafting  itself  onto  the  gnarled  stem 
of  antique  tradition,  or  will  the  modern  commercial 
conceptions  demand  a  fresh  basis  and  complete 
emancipation  ? 

There  is  no  doubt  a  conceivable  compromise  whereby 
the  old  spirit  would  linger  on  as  a  living  force  in  the 
army  whilst  it  ceased  to  exist  in  the  hearts  of  the  civil 
population.  In  that  case  another  danger  would  menace 
the  Japanese  Empire — the  danger,  namely,  that  the 
noble  spirit  of  the  army  would  become  dangerously 
divorced  from  the  new  commercial  spirit  of  the  nation. 
Even  in  this  camp — ^amongst  troops  flushed  with 
success— burning  with  patriotism,  there  are  indica- 
tions  to  show  that  the  military  caste  must  hasten  the 
process  of  modernising  its  spirit  unless  it  is  to  lose 
touch  with  the  mass  of  the  people. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  remain  blind  to  the 
ultra-radical,  sometimes  frankly  socialistic,  views  of 
some  of  the  civilian  Japanese  here  who  have  been  to 
America,  or  to  ignore  their  freely  expressed  hatred  of 
the  caste  of  military  officers.  This  is  a  sign  of  coming 
trouble,  for  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  when  the  few 
non-military  men  with  us  furnish  several  examples  of 
such  a  state  of  mind  there  must  be  many  thousands 
in  Japan  who  hold  similar  views.  The  change  from 
Bushido  to  Chicago  is  too  violent.  The  sceptical, 
individualistic  ideas  prevalent  in  parts  of  the  United 
States  act  like  corrosive  sublimate  upon  the  Samurai 
spirit  of  loyalty  and  self-sacrifice.  The  old  bottles  are 
still  in  excellent  condition,  but  it  is  trying  them  very 
high  to  select  the  newest,  most  eifervescent,  of  all 
vintages  when  they  have  to  be  refilled* 


30  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

Here  a  question  arises  which  I  have  fully  discussed 
with  my  Japanese  military  comrades.  Cannot  some- 
thing be  done  to  meet  the  danger  half  way?  If 
it  is  desirable  that  the  Japanese  should  go  slow 
in  matters  of  education,  why  not  select  venerable 
places  of  instniction  such  as  Oxford  or  Cambridge, 
Edinburgh,  Glasgow  or  St.  Andrews?  These  hoary 
institutions  possess  a  spirit  which  is  far  less  violently 
at  variance  with  the  traditions  of  old  Japan  than 
that,  so  brilliant  in  itself,  which  sparkles  through  the 
colleges  of  the  United  States  of  America.  The  former 
are  capable  of  leading  the  Samurai  student  very 
gradually  and  very  gently  to  the  new  inevitable  ideals ; 
the  lessons  of  the  latter  may  produce  good  results, 
but  may  also,  as  I  have  myself  seen,  be  so  badly 
assimilated  that  they  destroy  the  equilibrium  of  the 
student.  It  comes  to  this.  Do  Japanese  fathers  and 
mothers  care  to  run  even  the  smallest  risk  that  their 
sons  may  return  to  their  native  land  out  of  harmony 
with  their  surroundings  and  with  a  contempt — con- 
cealed, perhaps,  possibly  arrogant  and  outnspoken — 
for  all  old-fashioned  things,  themselves  amongst  the 
number?  Or,  would  they  like  them  to  preserve  to 
a  reasonable  and  moderate  extent,  their  love  and 
admiration  for  their  ancestors  and  for  the  old  days  of 
Japan?  How  often  an  Englishman,  Scotchman  or 
Irishman  may  be  heard  to  say,  in  answer  to  the  question, 
**  Why  is  this  so?"  "  It  has  always  been  so,"  or,  "  It 
was  good  enough  for  my  father ;  it  will  serve  for 
me."  Whereas,  except  in  New  England  and  the  South, 
such  sentiments  are  not  very  popular  in  the  States. 

Every  one  must  recognise  that  there  is  an  American 
spirit  of  Boston  as  well  as  an  American  spirit  of 
Chicago^  but  it  is  the  latter  which  oatches  hold  of  the 


Bbfleotions  by  the  Way  31 

young  Japanese  student,  and  he  is  apt  to  find  it  a 
bit  too  heady.  As  a  soldier  who  has  studied  the 
American  Civil  War  I  yield  to  no  one  in  admiration 
for  our  go-ahead  cousins,  from  their  great  President 
downwards,  but  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that 
they  are  the  most  wholesome  companions  for  the 
Japanese  just  at  the  present  stage  of  their  respective 
developments.  I  would  confidently  send  any  young 
relative  of  my  own  to  imbibe  American  notions,  but 
I  would  advise  the  Samurai's  son  to  refrain.  Anyway, 
what  I  am  concerned  at  present  to  conclude,  is  : 

(1)  The  precepts  of  Bushido  have,  to  some 
extent,  been  successfully  transplanted  from  the 
old  Samurai  code  to  the  army,  but  have  failed 
signally  to  strike  root  in  the  domain  of  commerce. 
Therefore,  these  precepts  as  accepted  in  the  army 
must  be  adapted  to  the  new  order  of  things  or 
perish.  Already  Bushido  stirs  the  antagonism 
of  some  of  the  foreign  educated  men  who  mean 
to  try  and  rule  the  new  Japan.  These  intel- 
lectuals regard  military  ofiioers  with  greater  dis- 
like than  a  German  professor  displays  towards 
a  Prussian  junker.  They  pine  for  the  eman- 
cipation of  women;  they  burn  to  humble  the 
caste  pride  of  the  military  and  naval  officers,  and 
at  all  costs  they  are  bent  on  democratising 
Japanese  institutions  in  every  direction.  I  am 
not  imagining  these  things.  I  am  voicing  the 
feelings  of  Japanese  civilians  who  have  expressed 
them  to  me  on  many  occasions.  I  heartily  disagree ; 
but  even  if  they  are  right  in  holding  such  views 
I  think  they  are  premature  and  unpatriotic  in 
their  desire  to  kill  Bushido,  and  this  desire  they 
have    conceived,    I   fear,    from    an     injudicious 


^^sfssmnmmmmmmmfmmmmammmmmmmmm^'^m^mm^mmm^f^^wmm 


32  A  Staff  Officbe's  Scrap-Book 

application  of  principles,  good  perhaps  in  them- 
selves, which  they  have  picked  up  in  America. 

(2)  It  would  be  an  irretrievable  loss  to  Japan  if 
Bushido  was  clean  wiped  out,  leaving  no  trace 
upon  the  national  character. 

(3)  Therefore  the  Japanese  should  try  and  put 
a  drag  upon  the  wheel,  and  if  they  must  send 
some  of  their  boys  abroad,  they  should  select  for 
the  purpose  a  country  where  people  still  believe 
a  good  deal  more  than  they  care  to  confess  in  the 
greatness  of  their  great-great-grand&tthers. 

To  say  that  I  have  carried  out  the  foregoing  moral 
reconnaissance  with  the  diffidence  which  springs  from 
an  acknowledged  want  of  grip  of  my  subject  is  to  state 
my  want  of  qualification  too  mildly.  When  I  try  to 
penetrate  the  Japanese  mind  I  am  baffled  by  contra- 
diction on  contradiction.  The  very  man  who  speaks 
of  a  steam  hammer  borrowed  from  Armstrong's  or  a 
system  of  attack  taken  from  Germany  as  if  he  had 
originated  it  himself,  atones  for  all  by  ending  himibly, 
"  We  have  a  lot  still  to  learn — a,  lot  to  learn."  The 
Japanese  seem  to  be  gifted  with  a  much  higher 
nervous  energy  than  any  other  Asiatics.  They  are 
exceedingly  curious  and  eagerly  welcome  any  new 
thing  or  novel  idea.  On  mechanical  points  or  details 
they  are  especially  inquisitive.  I  should  say  their 
genius  was  entirely  prosaic  and  material,  were  it 
not  for  the  inevitable  contradiction:  their  love  for 
poetry — ^art — painting — but  especially  poetry.  And 
although  the  poetry  consists  in  a  great  measure  of 
verbal  conceits  or  puns,  there  is  real  feeling  in  it  too. 
In  music  the  inquirer  imagines  he  has  reached  one 
rock  of  certitude  amidst  so  much  that  is  contra- 
dictory and  vague.    The  whole   world    of  western 


Befxjx^tions  by  the  Way  33 

music  is  certaiDly  closed  to  the  Japanese  ; — and  yet — 
see  a  private  soldier  hanging  in  perfect  rapture  on  the 
trill  of  a  nightingale — ^where  now  is  the  theory  that 
his  soul  is  on  that  account  dead  to  melody?  A 
Japanese  cares  nothing,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
observe,  for  scenery  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  but  just 
as  so  much  seems  beyond  question,  you  find  a  whole 
company  entranced ;  lost  in  the  purest  artistic  admira- 
tion of  a  waterfall.  As  for  flowers,  they  are  simply 
adored  by  the  whole  army.  The  language  is  probably 
more  unlike  English  than  any  other,  and  yet,  if  the 
distance  is  sufficient  to  make  the  listener  lose  the 
precise  words,  there  is  a  strange  familiarity  about  the 
intonation. 

I  fear  I  have  been  writing  as  if  Japan  had  every- 
thing to  learn  firom  us.  We  can  still  teach  her  some- 
thing, no  doubt,  but,  in  the  greatest  quality  any  nation 
can  possess,  the  power,  namely,  of  imbuing  its  sons 
and  daughters  with  the  idea  that  the  public  interest 
comes  first  and  the  private  interest  comes  a  long  way 
second,  we  have  everything  to  learn  fi:om  her.  If  life 
is  to  be  lifted  out  of  the  dull,  ordinaiy  rut,  there  must 
be  some  ideal  in  the  background  which,  in  moments  of 
illumination,  may  reveal  the  possibility  of  existence  on 
a  higher  plane.  Such  moments  may  not  often  be 
vouchsafed,  but  those  are  the  most  ready  to  perceive 
the  flash  and  respond  to  the  appeal  who  have  kept 
before  them  a  sense  of  patriotic  obligation— a  love  of 
their  country  with  all  that  such  love  implies  of  gratitude 
for  its  past ;  hope  for  its  future  and  determination  to 
defend  it.  Too  often,  with  us,  is  the  noble  word  free- 
dom degraded  by  being  confused  with  the  right  of  the 
individual  as  against  the  Stata  What  is  right  com- 
pared with  d%Jity  f    Is  it  too  much  to  hope  that  the 

II  c 


wt  ^ygw 


34  A  Staff  Offickr's  Scrap-Book 

coming  generation  at  least^  may  be  brought  up  to 
believe  that  the  public  good  must  take  the  first  place 
in  each  poor  little  life,  which  only  thus  can  succeed  in 
catching  some  ray  of  reflected  grandeur  ?  For  a  nation 
lives  only  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  When  it  dies 
there,  no  wealth,  no  territory  will  save  it.  The  Jew 
from  no  man's  land,  the  New  York  Irishman,  the 
French-speakingCanadian, descendant  of  Fraser's High- 
landers, alike  belong  far  more  truly  to  the  Jewish, 
Irish  or  Scotch  nations  than  some  of  those  English- 
men who  are  frankly  selfish  in  their  lives  and  cosmo- 
politan in  their  sympathies  belong  to  England. 


CHAPTER  XX 
THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  TWENTY-SIXTH  OF  AUGUST 

KiNKAHOSHi)  AugiLSt  23rrf,  1904. — Immense  excite- 
ment. The  march  against  Kuropatkin's  communica- 
tions is  about  to  begin.  What  a  splendid  thing  to  be 
alive,  and  to  be  here  taking  part  in  the  great  final  trek 
of  the  Manchurian  War ! 

The  three  Divisions  are  to  keep  in  their  respective 
positions.  Guards  on  the  left,  Kuroki  with  the 
Second  Division  in  the  centre,  and  the  Twelfth  Division 
on  the  right.  The  Guards  lead  oflf  and  march  to- 
night westwards  down  the  big  Liaoyang  road  as  far  as 
the  angle  where  it  turns  again  to  the  northwards 
{see  Map  XXH.).  They  are  to  take  the  Second  Division 
Field  Artilleiy  with  them,  as  our  line  of  advance  will 
lead  us  over  a  country  impracticable  for  anything  but 
infantry  and  mountain  guns.  It  is  rumoured  that 
there  is  a  good  number  of  the  enemy  on  the  Guards' 
left  flank,  but  it  is  said  that  the  Fourth  Army  is 
stretching  out  a  hand  to  us  so  as  to  lessen  our 
difficulties  in  that  direction. 

The  Novik  has  been  sunk  by  two  Japanese  cruisers 
going  through  the  Hokaido  Straits. 

EiNKAHOSHi,  August  2Uh,  1904. — I  am  to  start  at 
2.30  P.M.  to-morrow  with  Kuroki  and  the  Head- 
quarters Staff,  taking  three  days'  rations  with  me  on 


36  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

my  horse  and  probably  sleeping  d  la  heUe  etoile  for  the 
next  few  nights. 

Too  busy  making  arrangements  to  write  any  more, 
although  the  joy  of  an  army  under  orders  to  advance 
aflfords  a  tempting  theme. 

Under  an  oak  treSy  near  Nidorei,*  August  25thf 
1904.— Writing  by  the  light  of  "Mangatsu,"  the  full 
harvest  moon,  my  heart  shares  the  adoration  with 
which  to-night  all  true  Japanese  regard  the  inconstant 
orb.  In  every  direction  stretches  the  ripening  com, 
which  does  not,  even  by  a  rustle,  break  the  phan- 
tasmal silence,  oppressive  to  one  who  knows  that  he 
is  closely  encircled  by  a  vast  invisible  host.  Sheaves 
of  bayonets  project  with  an  ominous  glitter  from  the 
ears  of  grain,  and  occasional  bluish  ribbons  of  smoke 
trailing  up  lazily  towards  the  cloudless  sky  betray  the 
ranks  of  the  slumbering  army. 

A  hvi  near  a  village  called  Kokahoshi,!  August 
26tA,  1904. — I  am  soaked  to  the  skin  and  ravenous 
withal,  but  excitement  sends  me  a  transient  spurt  of 
pluck  to  set  to  work  at  my  scribbling.  We  are  not 
going  to  march  into  Liaoyang  the  day  after  to-morrow ; 
so  much  is  clear,  and  it  is  equally  evident  I  cannot 
attempt  to  write  a  comprehensive  story  of  the  battle 
until  I  get  settled  under  a  watertight  roof.  That  is 
to  say,  I  must  content  myself  nleanwhile  with  jotting 
down  my  personal  adventures  and  observations  from 
day  to  day  as  they  arise. 

At  8-30  this  morning,  I  was  awakened  and  told  that 
Kuroki  and  his  Staff  had  decamped,  and  that  I  was  to 
follow.  The  moon  hung  very  low  over  the  mountains, 
and  I  could  hear  a  few  dropping  shots  in  the  far 
distance.    After  going  a    little  way   north   up  the 

•  Ghinesej  Altauling  (m6  Map  XXII.)   t  Chinese^  Hochi&putso^ 


nw   wmmmm    %.   'i  ymfmtim^'n    i^'^i^^  .     jij    iiiwi  n  ■  —  ■!  i  i 


The  Battle  of  the  Twenty-Sixth  of  August    37 

Tiensuitien  valley,  we  turned  westwards  and  climbed 
about  1^  miles  up  a  narrow  nullah  loading  into  the 
next  big  valley. 

When  we  got  on  to  the  watershed,  we  were  met  by 
an  adjutant  who  said  that  Goneral  Kuroki  had  taken 
up  his  position  on  a  peak  immediately  to  the  south  of 
where  I  stood,  and  that  he  hoped  I  would  come 
up  there  and  join  him.  At  the  very  top  of  the 
mountain,  which  is  called  Gokarei*  (Map  XII.),  was  a 
patch  of  smooth  turf  surrounded  by  thick  hazel  scrub. 
On  the  miniature  lawn  were  set  four  camp  chairs  in  a 
row.  I  sat  in  great  glory  on  the  second  chair  from 
the  left  between  General  Kuroki  and  H.I.H.  Prince 
Kuni.  This  is  the  first  time  I  have  ever  seen  a  chair 
on  a  battlefield,  and  to  find  myself  sitting  in  one  makes 
me  think  of  Marshal  Saxe  and  of  the  good  old  days 
when  they  did  such  things  in  great  style. 

Behind  us  and  beneath  us  lay  the  Tieusuitien  valley 
running  north  and  south,  and  to  our  front,  looking 
westwards,  there  rose,  at  a  distance  of  about  four  miles, 
a  high  continuous  range  still  in  the  possession  of  the 
Russians.  Behind  this  range,  but  hidden  by  it  from 
our  view,  ran  the  Tangho,  across  which  river  Oyama 
has  ordered  Kuroki  to  drive  the  enemy.  All  the 
approaches  to  the  position  now  held  by  the  Russians 
were  broken  up  into  a  wild  jungle  of  peaks,  ridges  and 
ravines.  It  was  a  sort  of  country  suitable  for  very  young 
men  and  wild  goats.  Take  a  sheet  of  foolscap ;  crumple 
it  up ;  pull  it  out  again ;  multiply  the  scale  by  50,000  ; 
then  perhaps  some  adequate  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
configuration  of  the  terrain  {see  Sketch  XVII.  and 
Map  XXII.). 

The  Second  Division  had  carried  the  enemy's  out- 

*  ChineBe^  Wuohialmg, 


w^^'mr^^^^^^^^f^^^^^^^'^^^^mmmmm^mm^^^^^^^ 


38  A  Staff  Officbr^s  Scbap-Book 

post  line  with  the  bayonet  by  moonlight,  and  were 
now  in  possession  of  the  broken  ground  between  us 
and  the  high  range  to  the  westwards.  They  had  even 
made  good  a  small  portion  of  the  main  Russian 
position,  on  their  extreme  right  and  the  Russian  left. 
But  when  I  came  upon  the  scene,  the  centre  and  right 
of  the  enemy  were  still  maintaining  their  ground,  and 
the  Japanese  were  mostly  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the 
big  mountains  whose  crests  were  crowned  with  Russian 
trenches. 

The  first  time  I  looked  at  my  watch  it  was  7  a.m. 
There  was  then  a  heavy  musketry  fight  in  progress, 
the  double  tic-toe  of  the  heavier  Russian  rifle  rather 
predominating.  Eleven  miles  to  our  left,  to  the 
southwest,  an  artillery  duel  had  begun  about  an  hour 
previously  between  the  sixty  guns  belonging  to,  or 
attached  to,  the  Guards,  and  five  Russian  batteries 
firing  from  gun -pits  just  behind  the  crest  lines  of  the 
ridges.  The  Japanese  guns  were  in  action  along  the 
line  Roshisan-Tashinpou,*  and  the  Russian  guns  were 
replying  from  the  line  Daidenshi-Kohoshi  t  (Map 
XXII. ).  The  little  snowy  smoke-balls  all  clustered 
together  over  one  spot  look  like  a  flock  of  innocent  gulls 
hanging  over  a  shoal  of  fish.  But  just  as  a  carcase  is 
denoted  by  the  vultures,  so  too  is  death  clearly  in- 
dicated by  these  far-off*  fleecy  clusters  of  clouds  whose 
iron  rain  can  be  seen  even  at  this  distance  raising 
clouds  of  yellow  dust  all  round  the  Russian  gun-pits. 
So  much  for  the  centre  and  left. 

About  ten  miles  to  our  right,  to  the  north,  there  lay 
athwart  the  horizon  a  huge,  black,  straight-backed 
mountain  bearing  a  small  knob  on  its  far,  or  western, 

*  Chinese,  Langtsusban-Tashintun. 
t  TatientBU-Kaofengtflu. 


The  Battle  of  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    39 

extremity.  The  mountain  is  called  Kosarei.*  I  am 
told  that  all  the  recomiaissances  have  shown  that  this 
Kosarei  mountain  will  be  a  terrible  hard  nut  to  crack, 
rising  as  it  does  almost  sheer  1600  feet  above  the 
rivers.  Kuroki  is  not  even  certain  whether  it  was 
practicable  on  its  northern  flank — ^practicable,  that  is 
to  say,  for  an  armed  man  to  climb.  Kosarei  forms  the 
left  of  the  Kussian  position,  and  is  the  objective  of  the 
hot-headed  Twelfth  Division.  Even  now,  at  the  hour 
I  am  writing,  no  one  knows  for  certain  what  has 
happened  there,  or  in  whose  hands  the  mountain  has 
remained. 

At  7.30  A.M.  an  orderly  brought  us  cups  of  hot  tea, 
and  Kuroki  gave  me  a  cigar  for  which  a  Stafi*  officer 
struck  a  match.  I  said  it  was  a  proud  position  for  me 
to  be  sitting  during  a  great  battle  by  the  side  of  the 
commander  of  a  Japanese  army  smoking  his  cigars 
which  were  lit  by  another  great  man.  Kuroki  laughed 
quite  light-heartedly,  as  if  he  was  genuinely  free  from 
all  care.  I  said,  ^*  Your  Excellency  does  not  anticipate 
very  heavy  losses,  I  hope  ?  "  He  replied  that  his  only 
anxiety  was  about  the  Twelfth  Division,  which  was  so 
far  distant  he  could  get  no  news  of  its  progress.  He  was 
able  to  see  from  the  shrapnel  bursts  that  the  line  of 
battle  of  the  Guards  was  where  he  expected  it  to  be, 
and  he  was  confident  that  the  Second  Division  in  front 
of  us  would  more  than  make  good  what  they  had 
gained  by  their  night  attack  with  the  bayonet. 

Kuroki  is  truly  a  delightful  man.  Not  a  beribboned, 
overbearing,  jealous  General,  but  gentle,  unassuming, 
sympathetic  and  charming.  Occasionally  little  jokes 
were  made  at  which  he  and  his  Staff  laughed  heartily. 

Nor  was  any  small  touch  of  politeness  or  etiquette 

*  Chinese,  HungshaliDg. 


40  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

omitted.     In  short,  there  was  not  the  slightest  sign  of 
strain  or  excitement.     Only  keen  interest. 

I  am  told  that  instructions  were  found  on  a  Bussian 
Staff  officer  who  had  been  wounded  and  taken  prisoner 
about  a  week  ago,  warning  the  Divisional  Generals 
opposed  to  us  that  they  must  be  specially  careful 
about  their  flanks.  The  glimpse  Kuroki  thus  obtained 
into  the  enemy's  plans  determined  him  to  try  a  bold 
frontal  attack  on  the  centre,  as  he  considered  it  a  fair 
presumption  that  this  part  of  the  Bussian  line  would 
be  comparatively  weakly  held  and  ill  prepared. 

Meanwhile  the  musketry  fire  became  violent  in  the 
extreme  all  along  the  lower  slopes  of  the  big  mountains 
opposite;  it  clanged  and  echoed  through  the  high 
mountains  as  if  thousands  of  riveters  were  working  for 
dear  life  on  a  monster  battleship,  and  yet  the  Japanese 
did  not  seem  to  gain  a  yard.  Far  away  on  the  left 
the  fire  of  the  sixty  guns  with  the  Imperial  Guards  was 
perceptibly  weakening,  whilst  the  Bussian  guns  oppo- 
site to  them  were  now  able  to  divert  some  of  their  fire 
from  the  Japanese  batteries  to  other  parts  of  the  battle- 
field, where  evidently  the  infantry  advance  was  being 
fiercely  contested. 

Kuroki  is  a  great  smoker,  and  consumed  cigar  after 
cigar.  Eventually  he  lay  down  on  his  back  and  used 
the  cigar^box  as  a  pillow,  putting  his  handkerchief 
over  it. 

When  messages  arrived  by  the  hand  of  anxious 
adjutants  or  orderlies  they  were  generally  delivered 
to  the  senior  Staff  officer  present,  who  read  them  first 
and  then  took  them  to  Kuroki,  but  occasionally  the 
adjutant  would  step  forward  and  read  the  contents  of 
his  note-book  in  a  clear  loud  voice  so  that  all  could 
hear. 


Thb  Battle  of  the  Twenty-sixth  op  August    41 

At  7.50  A.  M.  we  noticed  that  one  particular  Russian 
battery  entrenched  on  the  south  side  of  a  small  hillock 
had  been  singled  out  for  the  ten-ible  concentrated  fire 
of  the  whole  of  the  Guards'  artillery,  who  were  simply 
pouring  shrapnel  and  high  explosive  shell  upon  it.  Ball 
after  ball  of  cottony  white  smoke  was  piled  over  the 
eight  Russian  field-pieces  by  the  invisible  agency 
of  the  growling,  snarling  Japanese  guns,  whilst  every  now 
and  then  a  huge  column  of  greenish  black  vapour  would 
rise  up  from  the  edge  of  the  gun-pits,  showing  where  a 
high  explosive  shell  had  that  moment  alighted.  All  our 
glasses  were  glued  to  this  tumultuous  scene,  when  sud- 
denly,amidst  murmurs  of  interest  fromtheOeneralStaff, 
the  Russians  were  seen  to  be  withdrawing  their  guns  and 
bringing  them  out  again  into  an  alternative  set  of  gun - 
pits  on  the  northern  side  of  the  hillock,  from  whence 
they  soon  re-opened  fire,  whilst  the  Guards'  artillery 
kept  on  pounding  away  at  the  empty  entrenchments  to 
the  south.  The  General  Staff,  instead  of  fuming  as 
Europeans  or  Americans  would  probably  have  done  at 
the  success  of  the  Russian  artifice,  were  genuinely  in- 
terested and  quite  pleased.  They  exclaimed :  **Ils 
luttenthien!"* 

At  8  A.M.  an  adjutant  appeared  with  a  despatch, 
saluted,  and  read  out  a  message  from  the  Commander 
of  the  Twelfth  Division  announcing  that,  at  6.30  A.M., 
he  had  carried  the  northern  and  most  difficult  part  of 
the  Kosarei  position  on  the  extreme  Russian  left,  but 
that  the  enemy  was  still  vigorously  disputing  his 
attempts  to  improve  his  advantage.  This  was  great 
news,  but  not  sufficiently  definite  or  conclusive  to  make 
the  General  Staff  quite  happy. 

*  I  believe  *'  Ila  ae  batterU  bien  "  is  the  more  correct  formula,  but 
I  giye  it  as  it  was  said. — I.  H. 


42  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

At  8.15  a  breathless  messenger  arrived,  saying  that 
the  enemy  in  front  of  the  Second  Division  were  begin- 
ning to  fall  back  on  Amping.  The  rattling  and  crack- 
ling of  the  musketry  was  now  continuous  as  the  noise 
of  a  blazing  bonfire.  I  was  tempted  to  ask  leave  to  run 
on  and  see  the  infantiy  fight  at  closer  quarters,  but  I 
reflected  that  if  I  were  to  elect  to  witness  the  exploits 
of  companies  I  must  forego  the  unique  experience  of 
being  solitary  spectator  of  such  a  vast  battle  panorama 
as  now  lay  smoking  and  resounding  at  my  feet. 

At  8.20  a  second  despatch  reached  us  from  the 
Twelfth  Division,  saying  that  Kigoshi,  who  is  to  the 
Twelfth  Division  what  Okasaki  is  to  the  Second,  had, 
with  five  battalions,  scaled  the  lofty  black  ridge  north 
of  Kosarei,  and  that  the  Russians  were  quite  driven 
off  the  northern  half  of  the  mountain  at  the  time  of 
writing,  namely,  at  7.20  a.m.  This  news  was  readout 
aloud,  and  for  once  the  Japanese  permitted  their 
assumed  mask  of  insensibility  to  drop,  and  were  as  ex- 
cited and  frankly  delighted  as  a  lot  of  schoolboys.  A 
very  senior  officer  even  went  the  length  of  calling  out 
"  Bravo  ! "  and  a  few  moments  later  he  whispered  to 
me,  chuckling,  *'  Das  war  die  Hauptsache ! " 

As  far  as  I  could  judge  by  the  map  and  the  lie  of 
the  ground,  the  ridge  which  had  been  half  taken  was 
the  key  to  the  left  and  centre  of  the  enemy's  position. 
By  its  occupation,  the  Japanese  had  gained  a  point 
d'appui  for  an  immediate  advance  on  Amping,  which, 
if  successful,  would  render  untenable  the  whole  of  the 
country  lying  between  the  Tangho  and  the  Lanho  (Map 
XXII.).  Either,  so  it  seemed  to  me,  the  Russians  must 
1  etake  the  Kosarei  ridge,  or  else  there  was  no  secure  foot- 
hold for  their  left  and  centre  until  they  fell  back  west 
over  the  Tangho  or  north  over  the  Taitsuho.     The  right 


The  Battle  oi*  the  Twentv-sixth  of  August    43 

of  the  Russians,  which  was  engaged  with  the  Imperial 
Guards,  was  not  so  immediately  threatened,  as  they 
could  always  retire  on  to  Liaoyang  by  the  main  Pekin 
road,  which  ran  clear  of  the  town  of  Amping.  Never- 
theless, if  the  Russian  left  and  centre  were  forced 
back,  the  opponents  of  the  Imperial  Guards  would 
ultimately  have  to  follow  suit.  I  wrote  out,  therefore, 
a  cable  to  India,  and  got  it  censored  on  the  spot,  saying 
that  although  the  Russians  were  still  making  a  good 
fight,  an  important  victory  was  practically  assured. 
The  General  Staff  were  just  despatching  an  orderly 
back  to  Tiensuitien,  and  they  kindly  allowed  him  to 
take  my  cable. 

Hardly  had  he  disappeared  from  view,  when  bad 
news  began  to  come  in  from  the  front,  and,  not  for  the 
first  time,  I  was  sorry  I  had  been  in  such  a  hurry. 

At  8.25  a  messenger  arrived  saying  that,  although 
one  column  of  the  enemy  did  appear  to  be  falling  back 
on  Amping,  another  heavy  column  of  fresh  troops  had 
appeared  on  the  left  of  the  Second  Division,  where  a 
counter-attack  was  momentarily  expected.  Lieutenant- 
General  Nishi,  commanding  the  Second  Division,  did 
not  feel  himself  well  situated  to  resist  such  a  move- 
ment, as  he  had  now  only  one  battalion  in  hand,  and 
he  earnestly  begged  therefore  for  reinforcements  from 
the  29  th  Regiment  of  Kobi,  which  was  held  by 
Kuroki  at  Tiensuitien  as  an  army  reserve.  Kuroki 
was  perfectly  calm.  He  refused  the  reinforcements, 
and  I  gathered  that  he  would  be  enchanted  if  the 
counter-attack  was  delivered.  For  the  countiy  was 
so  bad  and  broken  that  the  only  result  of  a  successful 
Russian  advance  against  the  Second  Division  would  be 
to  involve  their  own  centre  inextricably  amidst  the 
mountains.      They   could  not  bring  up  artillery   to 


44  A  Staff  Officer^s  Scrap-BooK: 

improve  their  advantage,  and  meanwhile  the  Twelfth 
Division  might  be  able  to  get  to  Amping  in  their  rear 
and  cut  them  off  entirely  from  their  line  of  retreat. 

One  minute  after  Nishi's  alarming  message,  that  is 
to  say,  at  8.26,  an  orderly  arrived  firom  the  Imperial 
Guards  saying  that  the  situation  on  that  wing  was 
becoming  very  serious.  The  Guards,  he  reported,  could 
make  no  sort  of  progress  either  by  asserting  their  artil- 
lery superiority  or  by  advancing  their  infantry.  On 
the  contrary,  the  enemy  to  their  front  was  rapidly  in- 
creasing and  was  threatening  to  envelop  and  force  back 
their  left  brigade,  under  Asada,  which  had,  it  seems, 
crossed  the  upper  waters  of  the  Tangho  and  got  some- 
what isolated.  Now  faces  grew  grave,  and  after  a  very 
brief  deliberation,  orders  were  given  to  the  whole  of  the 
Army  Eeserve  to  march  from  Tiensuitien  to  the  assist- 
ance  of  the  Guards.  The  Army  Reserve  consisted,  as  I 
have  just  written,  only  of  the  29th  Regiment  of  Kobi,* 
which  had,  an  hour  previously,  come  in  to  Tiensuitien 
from  Antung,  having  marched  the  whole  distance  in 
forty-eight  hours,t  up  to  date  the  record  march  made 
by  any  unit  of  the  First  Army.   . 

So  long  as  it  remained  at  Tiensuitien,  this  reserve 
was  in  rear  of  the  centre  of  the  Japanese  line  of  battle, 
but  once  it  was  sent  to  the  extreme  left  it  would  cease 
to  be  available  for  the  reinforcement  of  centre  or 
right. 

Kuroki  knew  very  little  about  the  course  of  events 

*  In  the  Japanefle  Army  organisation  Kobi  are  the  2nd  Reserve, 
i.e.f  men  who  have  done  their  three  years  colour  service  and  three 
years  in  the  Yobi,  or  Ist  Beserve.  They  remain  ten  years  in  the 
Kobi. 

t  I  find  this  clearly  entered  in  my  diary,  but  am  somewhat 
staggered  to  find  from  the  map  that  the  distance  in  question  is 
85  nules  I— I.  H. 


i'- 


Si 


iJ 


The  Battle  of  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    45 

on  his  right,  except  that  the  Twelfth  Division  had 
taken  half  of  the  position  they  had  been  told  off  to 
attack  and  that  they  were  still  fighting ;  he  had  just 
heard  that  a  serious  attack  was  about  to  be  launched 
against  his  centre,  which  was  only  three  or  four  miles 
to  his  own  immediate  front,  and  he  could  plainly  hear 
and  see  for  himself  that  the  Russians  in  this  part  of  the 
field  were  numerous  and  full  of  fight.  In  giving  such 
an  order  then,  I  think  that  he  had  come  to  what  one 
of  the  Staff  described  as  une  decision  un  pen  avda- 
dense.  In  fact  it  was  an  action  demanding  an  un- 
common amount  of  nerve  to  part  with  the  29th 
Regiment  at  a  moment  so  critical 

Few  Generals  I  have  ever  met  would  have  had  the 
hardihood  to  deprive  themselves  with  this  reasoned, 
unfaltering  completeness  of  every  single  man  of  their 
reserves  at  a  moment  when  the  ever-increasing  fiiry  of 
the  masketry ,  and  the  pale,  breathless  messengers  from 
the  firing-line  all  foreboded  the  approach  of  a  crisis  in 
that  part  of  the  fight  which  was  raging  under  their 
very  eyes. 

There  is  no  bottling-up-the-Old-Guard  tendency 
about  Kuroki.  His  method  of  handling  his  reserves  is 
the  very  acme  of  boldness.  Never  will  Kuroki  merit 
the  reproach  which  Napoleon  levelled  at  Joseph  after 
Talavera,  when  he  told  him  the  plain  truth  and  said 
that  a  General  who  retreats  before  he  has  used  all  his 
reserves  deserves  to  be  shot  forthwith.  But  Napoleon 
himself  did  not  always  act  up  to  his  own  principles, 
and  although  he  was  the  acknowledged  master  in  the 
art  of  using  his  reserves,  yet  it  has  been  plausibly  con- 
tended that  at  Borodino  he  hesitated  and  was  lost. 

If,  however,  I  admire  the  commander  of  our  dashing 
Frajb  ^tWij  for  accepting  a  crushing  responsibility,  not 


46  A  Staff  Officbr's  Scrap-Book 

only  without  tremor  but  with  a  smile,  I  admii'e  the 
General  Staff  just  as  much,  though  in  quite  another 
way,  for  the  eager  and  positive  loyalty  with  which  they 
labour  untiringly  to  impress  all  outsiders  with  the  idea 
that  Kuroki  thinks  of  everything  for  himself  whilst  his 
assistants  are  merely  the  blind  and  passive  instruments 
of  his  authority.  What  a  contrast  to  some  of  us, 
who,  without  wielding  one  tithe  of  the  power  of  the 
Japanese  General  Staff,  are  quite  ready  to  encourage 
the  inferences  of  our  admiring  friends  that  the  General 
was  the  puppet  whilst  we  were  the  true  originators  of 
any  success  which  for  once  in  a  way  the  poor  man  may 
chance  to  have  achieved .  If  ever  I  get  back  safe  to 
England  and  people  ask  me,  "  What  are  the  lessons  of 
the  Manchurian  War  ? "  I  ought,  if  I  have  the  pluck 
of  a  mouse,  most  certainly  to  reply,  "  To  change  our 
characters,  my  dear  friend,  so  that  you  and  I  may 
become  less  jealous  and  egotistical,  and  more  loyal  and 
disinterested  towards  our  own  brother  officers.  This 
is  the  greatest  lesson  of  the  war." 

By  8.30  A.M.  the  Second  Division  were  holding  on 
like  grim  death  to  what  they  had  won,  and  that  was 
all  they  could  do.  The  right  of  their  attack  had 
effected  a  lodgment  on  the  summit  of  the  high  moun- 
tain overlooking  the  Tangho,  but  the  crest  of  the  same 
mountain  in  front  of  their  left  and  left  centre  was  still 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Here  the  Russian  fire  had 
become  so  heavy  as  almost  to  drown  the  single  reports 
of  the  Japanese  rifles. 

Later  on  in  the  day  I  heard  that  at  this  juncture 
the  situation  was  specially  critical,  inasmuch  as  the 
Russian  right  was  not  only  containing  the  Japanese 
left,  but  also  threatening  to  roll  up  their  centre  and 
right. 


Thb  Battle  ojf  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    47 

A  happier  complexion  was,  however,  soon  put  upon 
the  combat  by  a  mountain  battery  which,  since  8  A.M., 
had  been  trying  to  help  the  right  centre  of  the  Japanese 
infantry  from  the  crest  of  the  great  ridge,  by  firing 
occasionally  in  the  direction  of  Amping  (see  Sketch 
XVII.).  So  far  they  had  not  done  much  good,  as  the 
fire  of  the  Bussian  field-guns  had  been  too  much  for 
them.  Now,  however,  finding  themselves  threatened 
on  their  left  flank,  they  withdrew  a  few  yards  so  as  to 
put  the  crest  line  between  them  and  the  opposing  bat- 
teries near  Tsuigo  and  opened  fire  in  every  direction  ; 
just,  as  a  lieutenant-colonel  put  it  to  me,  like  a  bundle 
of  squibs.  Then,  not  content  with  a  mere  defensive 
action,  two  of  these  pop-guns,  for  they  are  little  more, 
proceeded  to  give  a  very  striking  example  of  the 
mighty  power  of  artillery  when  quite  unopposed  by  its 
own  arm. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  when  the  two  guns  were  withdrawn 
from  the  main  ridge,  and  were  brought  down  into  the 
bottom  of  the  valley,  where  they  advanced  through 
some  millet  fields  to  within  about  one  mile  of  the 
obstinate  Russians  (at  "  T  ").  There  was  no  difficulty 
in  following  the  subsequent  action.  From  Gokarei 
both  sides  were  clearly  revealed  by  a  pair  of  good 
glasses.  The  Russian  trenches  ran  a  short  distance 
below  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  having  evidently 
been  placed  there  instead  of  on  the  crest  line,  so  as  to 
cover  ground  which  would  otherwise  have  been  dead. 
From  one  point  of  view  such  an  arrangement  was 
good ;  indeed,  it  was  necessary.  From  another  it 
was  weak,  inasmuch  as  the  trenches  leaned  forward 
towards  the  valley  as  if  inviting  a  howitzer  to  lob  a 
shell  into  them.  There  may  seem  to  be  some  incon- 
sistency in  saying  at  the  same  time  that  an  arrange- 


48  A  Staff  Officbr's  Scrap-Book 

ment  was  necessary  and  that  it  was  faulty.  The 
explanation  is  of  course  that  the  military  art  is  not  so 
easy  as  a  tyro  might  imagine  it  to  be,  and  that  perfect, 
flawless  defence  by  field-works  of  a  natural  position 
is  a  sheer  impossibility. 

The  Japanese  had  been  gradually  climbing  the  slopes 
and  occupying  knoll  after  knoll,  but  had  not  been  able, 
during  the  past  hour,  to  make  any  further  progress. 
The  heaviest  fire  came  from  the  penultimate  peak  or 
knoll  of  mountain  "  T  "  {see  sketch),  under  shelter  of 
which  about  two  Japanese  battalions  were  engaging  the 
Bussian  trenches  at  a  range  of  500  yards.*  Covered 
by  this  infantry  fire,  groups  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
men  had  been  working  up  independently  to  closer 
quarters,  and  had  gradually  collected  into  three  large, 
irregular-shaped,  mud-coloured  mobs,  crouching  in 
depressions  which  gave  them  cover  from  fire,  within 
200  yards  fi'om  the  trenches  immediately  west  of  "  T," 
and  fi-om  the  actual  summit  which  was  ringed  round 
with  a  very  conspicuous  excavation. 

When  the  little  groups  rushed  and  climbed  and  crept 
upwards,  they  made  no  attempt  to  use  their  rifles,  but 
trusted*  entirely  to  the  covering  fire  of  the  battalions 
behind  the  spur.  I  was  too  far  to  notice  this  myself, 
but  I  heard  it  in  the  afternoon  from  an  officer  who  had 
been  with  them.  I  was  able,  however,  to  see  that  the 
three  big  mobs  were  glued  fast  to  their  cover,  and  that 
the  fire  from  the  trenches  waa  exceedingly  heavy. 

I  suppose  the  Russians  were  too  much  absorbed  in 
their  desperate  musketry  conflict  to  notice  the  two 
little  guns  creeping  up  through  the  miUet ;  otherwise, 

*  I  heard  later  on  in  the  day  that  the  Japanese  loeses  here,  and 
in  the  assaultiDg  colamnB,  had  amounted  to  some  40  officers  and 
600  men. 


The  Baotlb  of  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    49 

at  a  range  of  1700  yards,  they  should  have  been  able 
to  plaster  them  with  rifle  bullets.  Strange  it  is  to 
think  what  agencies  the  Almighty  employs  to  change 
the  face  of  history  or  to  humble  a  nation's  pride.  Some- 
times it  may  be  one  single  valiant  private  soldier  who,  by 
a  mere  cry  or  gesture,  inspires  his  comrades  with  hope 
in  the  hour  of  their  blackest  despair;  sometimes  a 
shower  of  rain  may  cast  one  empire  into  mourning  for 
the  loss  of  its  bravest  and  its  best  and  raise  another  to 
a  pinnacle  of  power  and  pride ;  this  time,  so  it  seemed 
to  me,  the  instruments  chosen  were  just  a  couple  of 
mountain  guns.  It  was  10.20  when  the  guns  opened 
on  the  Russian  position,  catching  it  obliquelv  and 
dropping  one  high  explosive  sheU  after  another  bang 
into  the  trenches.  The  enemy  did  not  seem  to  be  able 
to  stand  this  at  all.  They  began  to  give  way  all  along 
the  line,  and  quitted  their  cover  a  dozen  at  a  time  to 
gain  the  shelter  of  the  sky-line.  Sooner  or  later,  under 
such  insistence  from  the  artillery,  they  were  almost 
bound  to  go;  so  at  least  it  seemed  to  me.  The 
Japanese  gunners  worked  very  methodically,  beginning 
with  the  ringed  work  round  the  top  of  the  peak,  and 
carrying  on  along  the  trenches  from  south  to  north, 
dropping  their  high  explosive  shells,  in  the  proportion 
of  about  one  to  every  three  fired,  actually  into  the 
works.  It  was  a  beautiful  piece  of  gunnery  practice  to 
witness,  but  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  bitterness 

of  heart  of  the  Russian  ofiicers  as  their  men  were  thus 

< 

forced  to  give  way. 

So  soon  as  the  Russians  had  all  vacated  their  trenches 
and  were  crouching  behind  the  crest  line,  then  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  Japanese  storming  parties  became 
once  more  dead. 

Now  was  the  time,  and  sure  enough,  at  11  a.m.,  the 

11  D 


50  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

mud-coloured  blot  on  which  my  glasses  were  fixed, 
suddenly  sent  out  the  steely  sparkle  of  hundreds  of 
bayonets  and  then  changed  its  irregular  rounded  form 
into  that  of  a  long  thin  winding  snake-like  column 
pressing  up  the  spur  with  a  sun-flag  waving  at  its  head. 
The  mountain  guns  now  ceased  fire,  and  the  Russians 
stood  up  on  the  sky-line  to  empty  their  magazines  at 
the  approaching  Japanese.  At  this  moment,  the  little 
banner  detached  itself,  a  spot  of  dancing  life-like  colour, 
iand  raced  forward  alone  a  clear  distance  of  eighty  or 
one  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  the  forlorn  hope.  A 
splendid  feat  of  arms  1  Every  moment  we  looked  to  see 
it  fall ;  but  no,  the  Russians  disappeared,  the  firing 
ceased,  the  flag  waved  on  the  very  sharp  spiked  summit 
of  the  peak.  Then  the  firing  recommenced,  but  now 
only  with  the  single  reports  denoting  that  the  rifles 
were  pointing  away  from  the  listener. 

My  glasses  had  been  fixed  on  the  right  storming 
party,  but  apparently  the  two  crowds  of  men  I  had 
noticed  to  the  left  had  assaulted  simultaneously,  for 
looking  along  the  crest  line  I  could  now  see  the  Japanese 
everywhere  in  possession,  and  at  least  half  a  dozen  of 
their  flags  planted  at  intei'vals  on  the  highest  peaks  of 
the  range.  We  must  have  our  Jacks  too  for  our  next 
bit  of  fighting.  The  whole  army  becomes  inspirited  by 
seeing  the  advance  of  the  beloved  emblem  of  their 
country,  and  although  on  this  occasion  the  artillery 
did  not  file  up  to  the  very  last  moment,  it  seemed  to 
me  that,  with  such  a  conspicuous  mark  to  denote  the 
head  of  the  column,  they  ought  to  have  been  able  to 
do  so  without  having  much  fear  of  damaging  their  own 
men. 

The  Second  Division  had  now  occupied  the  whole  of 
the  Russian  position,  and   the   enemy's  centre  was 


■  VAcu^Te* 


HI 


E=as^ 


ngchangling)  TAKEJ 


The  Battle  of  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    51 

broken.  Bravo  the  brave  Second  1  These  men  of  the 
north  are  the  biggest,  bravest  and  least  clpver  men  in 
Japan.  They  are  the  Boeotians  of  the  Far  East.  They 
stand  a  head  and  shoulders  above  the  ordinary  Japanese 
to  be  met  with  on  a  railway  platform  in  Tokio  or  in  the 
streets  of  London,  and  in  build  and  muscular  develop- 
ment would  be  very  hard  to  beat  anywhere.  Many 
Japanese  would  strongly  question  their  pre-eminence 
in  bravery,  but  I  use  the  word  here  in  the  English  and 
not  the  Celtic  sense.  Other  Divisions  may  do  more 
dashing  feats,  but  the  Second  are  solid,  stolid  and  un- 
imaginative, and  although  it  would  never  occur  to 
them,  as  it  might,  for  instance,  to  the  men  of  the  Twelfth 
Division,  to  court  danger  for  its  own  sake,  yet  they  can 
meet  it  with  supreme  indifference  whenever  it  crosses 
their  path. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  a  &iend  in  high  places 
said  to  me  :  *'The  news  which  has  just  come  in  from 
the  Twelfth  Division  is  good,  but  not  quite  so  good  as 
we  had  hoped.  The  right  brigade,  under  Kigoshi, 
which  stormed  the  northern  part  of  Kosarei,  is  still 
fighting  desperately,  and  is  unable  to  carry  the 
southern  part  of  the  moimtain.  The  left  brigade  of 
the  Twelfth  Division  has  advanced  as  far  as  Chipanling 
and  Fapanling,  driving  the  enemy  before  it.  The 
Second  Division  has  now  succeeded  in  occupying  the 
groimd  held  by  the  enemy's  centre.  Marshal  Kuroki 
has  still  some  hope,  therefore,  that  the  Twelfth  and 
Second  Divisions  may  yet  make  good  before  nightfall 
the  right,  bank  of  the  Tangho.  The  Guards  are  at 
present  fighting  across  the  upper  waters  of  that  river, 
and  if  they  can  only  manage  to  give  the  enemy  a 
handsome  beating  they  may  perhaps  be  able  to  reach 
Kohoshi  before  dark."     (Map  XXII.) 


52  A  Staff  Officeb^s  Scrap-Book 

A  few  minutes  later,  a  German -speaking  officer 
came  in  to  report  that  detachments  of  the  Fourth 
Army  were  now  visible  from  the  extreme  left  of  the 
First  Army.  After  he  had  delivered  his  message,  I 
engaged  him  in  conversation,  and  learnt  that  the  left 
brigade  of  the  Guards,  having  made  a  wide  turning 
movement,  was  now  marching  north-east  and  en- 
deavouring to  outflank  the  Eussian  right,  which  was  a 
mile  or  two  south  of  Kohoshi.  I  told  him  the  marshal 
commanding  hoped  that  the  Guards  might  occupy 
Kohoshi  before  dark,  when  he  replied  that  he  expected 
the  Guards  were  by  now  too  busy  defending  them- 
selves to  give  much  thought  to  Kohoshi.  By  11  a. M. 
the  musketry  to  our  front  had  quite  died  away,  and 
only  the  bursting  of  Bussian  shells  over  the  summit  of 
the  ridge,  which  the  Second  Division  had  just  captured, 
and  the  artillery  duel  between  the  Guards  and  the 
Bussian  right,  eleven  miles  away  to  the  west,  showed 
that  fighting  was  still  going  on. 

At  1  P.M.  an  adjutant  of  Kuroki's  came  back  from 
the  front,  and  reported  that  in  one  hour's  time  a  road 
would  be  cut  through  the  mountains  enabling  the 
field  artillery  to  get  up  into  position  on  the  big  ridge 
to  our  front  and  fire  on  the  retreating  Bussians. 

The  General  Staff  asked  many  eager  questions  of  the 
adjutant,  and  made  no  secret  of  their  opinions  that 
the  Bussian  retirement  was  being  admirably  well 
done.  It  seems  that  the  whole  of  their  line  fell  back 
simultaneously,  and  in  so  doing  concentrated  on 
Amping.  Had  each  Bussian  unit  acted  independently 
the  Japanese  detachments  already  in'  close  contact 
with  them  might  have  pressed  on  independently  in 
pursuit.  As  it  was,  however,  the  Bussians  not  only 
maintained  their  cohesion,  but  drew  closer  together 


The  Battle  of  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    53 

with  every  step  they  took  towards  Amping,  during 
which  movement  they  were  covered  by  a  heavy  fire 
from  twenty -four  guns  posted  north  of  Chuchaputsu. 
The  Japanese  had  no  guns  wherewith  to  reply,  except 
the  mountain  battery  whose  exploits  have  just  been 
narrated  ;  and,  moreover,  they  were  still  in  some  dis- 
order after  having  delivered  the  assault.  I  do  not 
myself  think  that  a  pursuit  would  have  had  any  result 
beyond  heavy  losses  to  the  pursuers  until  it  could  be 
supported  by  artillery.  The  troops  had  been  marching, 
climbing,  fighting,  charging  for  over  twelve  hours. 
They  had  only  four  small  mountain  guns  in  position. 
The  enemy  had  given  way,  it  is  true,  but  had  not 
been  put  to  headlong  flight  or  apparently  been 
demoralised  to  any  great  extent.  They  were  con- 
centrating on  Amping  under  the  protection  of  a 
powerful  artillery.  Kuroki  did  well  to  leave  them 
alone. 

From  the  moment  it  was  decided  that  the  Second 
Division  was  not  to  pursue,  the  battlefield  became 
less  interesting,  for  it  was  not  possible  to  keep  up  a 
great  deal  of  excitement  about  exchanges  of  shell 
between  the  Guards  and  the  Russian  right  wing  at  a 
distance  of  over  ten  miles  from  our  point  of  observation. 
A  fine,  chilly  rain  began  to  fall,  and  I  got  under  the 
lee  of  a  small  but  thick  hazel  bush,  and  pulled  out  of 
my  haversack  a  weekly  TimeSy  dated  July  1st,  which  has 
been  a  record  delivery  up  to  date.  It  contained  a  long 
letter  from  Tolstoi.  I  see  he  considers  that  aggressive 
nations  can  be  appeased,  or  shamed,  or  tired  out,  by 
constantly  inviting  them  to  smite  the  other  cheek.  I 
doubt  if  the  great  writer  fully  appreciates  the  insatiate 
hunger  for  cheek-smiting  which  gnaws  at  the  vitals  of 
certain  sections  of  mankind,     If  tb^  Russian  people 


54  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

possessed  the  docile,  spiritless  characters  with  which 
he  would  fain  see  them  endowed,  their  Empire  would 
soon  be  parcelled  out  and  divided  between  more 
martial  races. 

At  5.30  P.M.,  one  of  the  Staff  came  and  sat  under 
my  bush,  observing  that  an  old  campaigner  always 
secures  the  best  shelter  from  the  storm.  He  told  me 
that  the  chief  anxiety  was  now  about  the  First 
Brigade  of  the  Guards  under  Asada,  who,  in  endeavour- 
ing to  turn  the  extreme  right  of  the  Bussians,  had  got 
too  far  away  from  the  Second  Brigade  under  Watanabe. 
Asada  seemed  to  be  in  some  peril  as  there  was  a 
formidable  concentration  against  him,  and  when 
the  latest  news  came  to  hand  he  was  reported 
as  being  only  just  able  to  hold  his  own,  pending  the 
arrival  of  the  Army  Reserves  from  Tiensuitien  at 
8.30  A.M. 

On  the  other  flank  of  the  Japanese  line  of  battle, 
Kigoshi's  Twenty-third  Brigade  has  done  a  magnificent 
feat  of  arms. 

The  ridge  of  Kosarei,  which  somewhat  resembles  a 
glorified  Caesar's  camp  at  Ladysmith,  rises  1600  feet 
above  the  Taitsuho — the  last  150  yards  of  the  ascent 
being  so  steep  as  to  render  any  idea  of  an  ordinary 
assault  by  daylight  quite  hopeless.  The  Japanese  ad- 
vanced up  the  northern  ridge  of  this  moimtain,  painfully 
climbing — sometimes  on  hands  and  knees.  The  Bussian 
picquets,  seeing  that  there  was  no  firing,  mistook  them 
for  a  mere  reconnaissance,  and  did  not  immediately  give 
a  general  alarm  or  hurry  up  reserves  to  the  threatened 
spot  to  man  the  trenches.  On  the  contrary,  their 
outposts  kept  steadily  falling  back,  occasionally  halting 
to  fire  or  roU  down  rocks,  and  imagining  apparently 
that  the  Japanese  would  be  frightened  away,  or  at  least 


The  Battle  of  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    55 

that  they  would  pause  to  reply.  But  Kigoshi  con- 
tinued his  advance  inexorably,  silently  ;  until,  without 
halt  or  haste,  he  reached  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  summit,  and,  wheeling  southwards,  marched  down 
the  narrow  back  of  the  mountain,  still — ^as  the  saying 
is — as  death.  No  shout  was  raised.  Not  a  shot  was 
fired.  But  those  of  the  enemy  who  lingered  were 
overwhelmed  by  the  steel-crested  wave.  Picquets, 
supports  and  reserves  were  swept  away  one  after  the 
other  before  the  dread  onslaught,  like  straws  before  a 
torrent.  No  one  on  the  Bussian  side  seems  clearly 
to  have  realised  the  terrible,  imminent  danger,  and 
Kigoshi,  pressing  on,  never  gave  his  opponents  one 
moment  to  think,  or  to  rally,  or  to  take  up  any  fixed 
line  of  defence. 

At  last,  in  the  grey  of  dawn,  the  Japanese  reached 
a  spot  where  the  back  of  the  mountain  narrows  into  the 
ledge  with  almost  precipitous  sides  which  forms  the 
actual  pass  of  Kosarei.  There  was  a  battery  of  Bussian 
guns  on  the  other  side  of  the  ledge  within  a  few  yards. 
The  guns  could  not  be  switched  on  to  the  Japanese,  as 
they  could  only,  owing  to  their  position  and  the  for- 
mation of  the  ground,  fire  eastwards  in  the  direction 
from  which  an  attack  had  been  anticipated,  and 
not  northwards  in  the  direction  from  which  the 
sudden  Kigoshi  had  now  mysteriously  appeared.  But 
the  ledge  was  so  narrow  that  a  few  Bussian  riflemen, 
lying  amongst  stones  on  the  southern  side,  were  able 
to  check  a  further  advance,  and  once  the  defenders 
got  breathing-space  they  seemed  to  be  immediately 
able  to  organise  a  stout  resistance. 

Since  7.20  a.m.,  in  fact,  when  the  advance  of  Kigoshi 
had  been  arrested  for  the  first  time,  not  one  yard  had 
he  gained !     The  Bussians  were  at  bay  behind  rocks 


56  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

on  the  south  side  of  the  rocky  ledge,  and  the  Japanese 
could  not  get  beyond  the  cover  of  some  rocks  at  fifty 
yards  distance  from  the  same  ledge  on  its  northern 
side.  Kigoshi,  from  his  last  message,  seemed  to  have 
little  hope  of  forcing  a  passage  until  after  dark.  The 
battery  was  under  fire  from  both  sides.  Neither  could 
the  Russians  remove  the  guns  or  the  Japanese  definitely 
capture  them. 

I  think  General  Kuroki  is  fairly  easy  in  his  mind. 
The  capture  of  the  whole  of  the  Kosarei  mountain  has 
not  been  achieved,  it  is  true,  but  the  possession  of 
even  its  northern  half  enables  Kigoshi  to  threaten  the 
communications  of  every  Bussian  east  of  the  Tangho. 
{See  Map  XXII.) 

Sasaki's  Twelfth  Brigade  of  the  Twelfth  Division  has 
captured  Papanling  and  Chipanling  without  much 
trouble  or  loss. 

The  Second  Division  has  stormed,  and  now  holds, 
the  formidable  line  of  mountain  called  Kungshan, 
immediately  overlooking  Amping,  which  is  only  four  or 
five  miles  distant. 

The  Guards'  Second  Brigade,  under  Watanabe,  have 
been  brought  to  a  standstill  opposite  Daidenshi  on  the 
main  Pekin  road,  but  should  by  now  have  been  joined 
by  the  Army  Beserve,  consisting  of  the  29th  Kobi  from 
Tiensuitien. 

The  Guards'  First  Brigade,  under  Asada,  on  the  ex- 
treme left  of  the  line,  is  causing  much  greater  anxiety. 
The  Bussian  extreme  right  is  entrenched  on  the  hills 
forming  the  western  slopes  of  the  valley,  through  which 
flow  the  upper  waters  of  the  Tangho.  Ajsada's  Brigade 
had  marched  north-west  from  Tashinpou  with  the  in- 
tention of  outflanking  and  turning  these  entrench- 
ments.    In  executing  the  movement  they  have  lost 


The  Battle  of  the  Twenty-sixth  of  August    57 

touch  with  the  Second  Brigade  under  Watanabe,  and 
whilst  thus  isolated  their  attack  has  not  only  been 
repulsed,  but  they  are  in  danger  of  being  surrounded 
by  reinforcements  which  the  Russians  are  rushing  down 
the  main  road  from  Liaoyang. 

To  sum  up :  The  division  and  a  half  forming  our 
centre  and  right  centre  have  been  definitely  successful 
and  have  occupied  the  enemy's  positions.  Our  extreme 
right  is  still  fighting,  but  has  already  carried  a  point 
whichdominates  the  battlefield  to  the  eastof  theTangho. 
Our  left  centre  can  make  no  impression  on  the  enemy, 
and  the  left  finds  itself  in  a  perilous  situation. 

Without  in  any  way  wishing  to  depreciate  the  pains- 
taking preparations  of  the  Japanese  leaders,  or  the 
unfailing  valour  of  their  men,  it  may  be  admitted,  I 
think,  that  they  have  owed  something  to  Dame 
Fortune  on  this  eventful  day.  Had  Kigoshi  failed  to 
carry  the  northern  half  of  the  Kosarei  ridge,  I  feel, 
having  seen  the  ground  and  considering  the  bad 
position  of  affairs  in  front  of  the  Guards  on  our  left, 
that  it  might  not  have  been  possible  for  the  centre  and 
right  centre  to  maintain  their  suocess.  They  had, 
according  to  their  intention,  driven  a  wedge  into  the 
enemy's  centre.  But  the  wedge  could  make  no  further 
headway  beyond  the  positions  actually  carried,  and 
if  it  had  been  threatened  on  both  flanks  by  the  Russians 
holding  on  to  right  and  left  of  them,  they  would  very 
possibly  have  bad  to  fall  back.  But  the  seizure  by 
Kigoshi  of  the  northern  half  of  the  Kosarei  ridge 
relieved  them  of  all  fear  on  their  most  exposed  flank, 
and  at  the  same  time  threatened  the  Kussian  com- 
munications and  line  of  retreat.  Therefore  every  one 
here  feels  confident  and  happy,  even  although  they 
may  be  a  little  anxious  about  the  Guards, 


58  A  Staff  Officbb's  Scrap-Book 

All  these  sanguine  anticipations  are  based  on 
Kigoshi's  brilliant  stroke  on  the  right  far  more  than  on 
the  victory  of  the  Second  Division  which  I  have  just 
seen  and  described.  How,  then,  did  Kigoshi  come  to 
take  those  almost  inaccessible  crags  upon  which  his 
Bising  Sun  flag  now  so  proudly  floats  ?  If  the  first 
Bussian  detachments  encountered  half-way  down  the 
slopes  of  Kosarei  had  made  a  resistance  sufficiently 
stubborn  to  enable  the  defenders  of  the  steeper  upper 
section  of  the  ridge  to  man  their  prepared  lines  of 
sangars,  then  (as  they  showed  later  under  less  favour- 
able conditions  and  with  half  the  ridge  already  torn 
from  their  grasp)  they  were  capable  of  offering  a  resist- 
ance to  the  Japanese  which  they  might  have  found  it 
impossible  to  overcome.  But  it  was  fated  to  be  other- 
wise, and  as  at  the  mountain  of  Makurayama  on  the  31st 
of  July,  so  to-day — or  rather,  I  may  now  say,  yesterday, 
for  it  is  past  midnight-the  carelessness  and  bad  lead- 
ing  of  an  outpost  have  been,  humanly  speaking,  the 
cause  of  the  defeat  of  a  great  army. 

It  was  not  until  6  p.m.  that  I  descended  the  steep 
western  slopes  of  the  Gokarei  mountain,  together  with 
Kuroki  and  the  Headquarters  Staff*.  The  rain  fell  in 
torrents  as  we  floundered  through  the  mud  as  far  as 
this  hovel.  Water  comes  trickling  through  the  roof, 
but  I  am  indeed  thrice  fortunate  to  be  one  of  the  very, 
very  few  out  of  the  tens  of  thousands  of  Russians  and 
Japanese  in  our  neighbourhood  who  has  a  roof  over 
bim  at  all.  Alas  for  the  poor  wounded.  Bain  is  a 
cruel  torment  to  badly  wounded  men.  Do  I  not  still 
recall  with  a  shudder  the  anguish  of  the  biting  cold  and 
of  the  heavy  raindrops  falling,  falling  all  night  long, 
on  my  sun-blistered  face  as  I  lay  outstretched  on  the 
veldt  beneath  Majuba  ? 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  RUSSIANS  RETIRE 

KoKAHOSHi,  August  27th,  1904,— Slept  soundly  till 
8  A.M.  It  was  then  wet  and  misty.  Guns  were  firing 
at  intervals  near  us,  but  they  must  have  made  random 
shooting,  as  it  is  not  possible  to  see  further  than  100 
yards.  In  the  direction  of  the  Imperial  Guards  the 
artillery  fire  is  heavy  and  continuous,  so  I  suppose 
there  is  not  so  much  fog  to  westwards.  All  the  soldiers 
here  look  pale  and  tired.  Their  knapsacks  had  been 
left  behind  when  they  started  on  the  night  of  the  25th 
to  make  their  night  attack,  and  their  thin  khaki  is 
soaked  and  clinging  clammily  to  their  limbs.  Never- 
theless, they  manage  to  be  cheerful  whilst  making 
their  morning  toilette  by  the  banks  of  the  muddy 
streamlet.  Many  of  them  are  wounded,  but  none  the 
less  happy  on  that  account  unless  they  suspect  that 
the  doctor  may  take  too  serious  a  view  of  such  a  trifle 
as  a  bayonet  wound  in  the  eye  or  a  bullet  through  the 
foot,  and  put  them  temporarily  on  the  shelf.  For  thfe 
tenth  time  at  least  I  must  write  down  that  the  Japanese 
infantry  consist  of  superb  material.  Guileless  as 
children,  brave  as  lions,  their  constant  ruling  thought 
is  to  do  their  duty  by  their  ancestors  and  by  the 
Emperor. 

The  fog  seemed  to  become  more  dense  as  the  morning 
wore  on,  and  the  Second  Division,  in  the  midst  of 


60  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

whom  I  had  slept,  did  not  dare  advance  blindfold  into 
the  unknown.  I  watched  many  wounded  being  brought 
down  the  valley,  and  amongst  them  several  Bussians. 
They  had  all  been  lying  in  the  rain  and  were  in  a 
pitiful  state,  caked  with  mud  and  blood.  I  also  saw 
rows  of  dead  Japanese  being  burnt.  A  colonel  who 
was  amongst  them  was  honoured  by  having  his  bonfire 
a  little  apart  from  the  others. 

At  midday  I  went  in  to  have  some  food,  and  learnt 
that  the  Kussian  left  had  cleared  during  the  night, 
leaving  Kigoshi's  Brigade  in  possession  of  the  preci- 
pitous ledge  of  rock  at  Kosarei,  and  of  the  guns,  as 
well  as  the  whole  of  the  southern  half  of  the  mountain. 
The  Twelfth  Division  is  now  supposed  to  be  advancing 
against  Ampiug  from  the  north,  but  the  Guards  are 
still  in  difficulties,  and  are  unable  to  make  good  their 
objective. 

After  a  bento  of  good  hot  rice  I  rode  with  Sergeant 
Watanabe  to  the  headquarters,  and,  obtaining  per- 
miaaion  to  see  what  I  could,  made  my  way,  after  a 
stiff  climb,  to  some  of  the  trenches  captured  yesterday. 
Here  I  found  a  battalion  of  Japanese  infantry  peering 
out  into  the  opaque  mist-curtain  which  was  so  perversely 
preventing  them  fi'om  carrying  on  the  fight.  They 
seemed  already  to  have  recovered  from  their  fatigue, 
and  looked  as  bright  and  keen  as  if  they  were  about 
to  start  on  a  campaign  instead  of  being  perhaps  not 
more  than  half-way  through  a  very  big  battle. 

Once  or  twice  the  fog  lifted  for  a  tantalising  second 
or  two,  enabling  us  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  winding 
Tangho  flowing  far  away  beneath  us.  Then,  at  four 
o'clock,  suddenly,  there  came  a  great  puff  of  wind 
from  the  west,  tearing  into  shreds  the  mist- veil,  and 
transforming  it  from  a  blinding  obstruction  ipto  many 


The  Russians  Betire  61 

trailing  streamers  of  radiant,  silvery  vapour.  As  a 
fair  landscape  may  instantaneously  be  flashed  by  a 
magic-lantern  on  to  a  sheet  which  until  then  was 
vacant,  ugly  and  meaningless,  so  now  the  blank  wall 
of  mist  in  one  second  made  way  for  many  chequered 
patterns  of  dark  green  crops,  golden  river  sand  and 
trembling  blue  water,  all  framed  about  by  innumerable 
tall,  spiked,  pyramidal  mountains  of  jade  (see  Sketch 
XVIIL). 

No  sooner  did  the  fairy-like  panorama  of  mountain, 
river,  plain  and  flying  mist  start  to  our  eyes  than  it 
drew  from  the  Japanese  a  thundering  salute  fired  by 
the  eighteen  field  guns  on  the  ridge  to  my  right,  for 
there  in  the  middle  of  the  scene  were  the  principal 
actors,  a  retreating  army  apparently  caught  in  a  trap. 
We  could  clearly  see  the  Russian  camps  on  the  flat 
sands  near  Amping ;  camps  which  were  being  hurriedly 
struck  before  our  eyes,  and  we  could  distinguish  also 
long  columns  creeping  slowly  up  and  down  the  right 
bank  of  the  river  like  leaden  Kriegspiel  blocks  being 
pushed  by  a  hesitating  player  over  the  map.  Even 
more  exciting  and  more  significant  was  the  sight  of  a 
narrow,  dark  line  spanning  the  Tangho,  towards  which 
these  columns  were  evidently  making  their  way. 
Under  my  glasses  this  object  revealed  itself  as  a  trestle 
bridge  crowded  with  troops,  whilst  a  brigade  at  least 
seemed  to  be  waiting  at  the  eastern  end  for  its  turn  to 
cross  and  put  the  broad  river  betwixt  them  and  the 
Japanese.  Eight  or  nine  miles  to  the  north  of  us  a 
big  fight  was  in  full  flame  over  all  the  valleys  and 
ridges  leading  down  from  the  Kosarei  ridge  to  Amping, 
and  it  was  dear  that  Kigoshi's  Brigade  of  the 
Twelfth  Division  was  pressing  down  at  best  speed  in 
hopes  of  cutting  off  the  rear-guard  of  the  Russians. 


62  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Tho  whole  of  the  Second  Division  had  plunged 
down  the  mountain  side  the  moment  the  fog  lifted. 
But  their  field  guns  were  fully  five  and  a  half  miles 
distant  from  the  bridge,  and  were  practically  out  of 
range  of  even  the  nearest  Bussian  infantry,  so  the 
Japanese  infantry  could  not  look  to  much  assistance 
from  them,  seeing  that  it  was  not  possible  to  advance 
them  any  further  without  making  a  road.  The 
mountain  battery  which  did  such  good  work  yesterday 
was,  however,  available,  and  followed  the  advancing 
Second  Division  as  fast  as  it  could. 

Soon  after  5  p.m.  the  firing  seemed  to  slacken  in 
the  valleys  north  of  Amping,  and  large  columns  of 
Bussians  debouched  from  them,  making  for  the  bridge 
and  for  fords  in  the  river. 

At  5.30  it  looked  as  if  there  was  a  fair  prospect 
that  the  artillery  of  the  Twelfth  Division,  and  perhaps 
some  of  the  infantry  of  the  Second  Division  as  well 
as  their  mountain  battery,  might  get  within  range  of 
the  bridge  before  the  bulk  of  the  Bussians  could  get 
across  it.  Had  they  succeeded,  a  second  Beresina 
tragedy  would  have  overwhelmed  nigh  on  a  Division 
of  Bussians.  There  was  still  an  hour  and  a  half  of 
daylight  and  almost  anything  was  possible.  But  as 
these  thoughts  crossed  my  mind,  two  batteries  of  the 
enemy's  artillery  unlimbered  on  the  open  sand,  close 
by  the  main  camp  which  was  now  nearly  struck,  and 
almost  inmiediately  I  saw  eight  white  pufe  of  smoke 
over  a  point  of  the  northern  ridge  down  which  the 
Twelfth  Division  was  pressing  ;  then  a  couple  of  groups 
of  four  just  to  steady  the  Second  Division,  and 
steadied  they  were !  The  Japanese  either  halted,  or 
advanced  double-slow  time,  whilst  several  great  masses 
of  Bussians  emerged  from  behind  a  low  blufif  by  Amping 


I  II 


The  Bussians  Betirb  63 

and  forded  the  river.  The  enemy  had  now  practically 
got  clear  away. 

At  6.45  P.M.  a  single  horseman  appeared  galloping 
over  the  sand  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  for  all  he 
was  worth.  I  cannot  imagine  what  he  can  have  been 
doing.  The  Japanese  must  be  rather  uncomfortably 
near  him.  However,  he  escapes.  This  is  the  last  of 
the  Bussians  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tangho.  The 
great  Marquis  Oyama  has  been  duly  obeyed. 

Meanwhile  several  Bussian  batteries  were  firing 
heavily  and  covering  the  retirement.  Yet  another  ex- 
emplification of  the  power  of  artillery  when  unopposed 
by  artillery,  culled  this  time  from  a  successful  with- 
(Lrawal  by  the  enemy.     When  I  got  back  here,  tired  and 

wet,  but  extraordinarily  happy,  I  found in  much 

anxiety  about  my  long  absence.  Evidently  he  thinks 
I  should  not  have  gone  off  independently,  even  with 
Headquarters'  permission.  However,  nothing  can  disturb 
my  equanimity  on  such  a  day  as  this.  He  tells  me  that 
the  Guards  have  also  been  able  to  advance  to-day,  and 
have  occupied  Sanjago  and  Kohoshi.*  It  seems  that 
the  almost  victorious  Bussians  who  were  surrounding 
Asada  and  repulsing  Watanabe  were  forced  to  retire  on 
account  of  the  success  of  the  Second  and  Twelfth 
Divisions.  Nevertheless,  Kuroki  is  not  quite  happy 
about  his  left,  and  he  therefore  marches  early  to- 
morrow for  Boshisan,  whence  he  will  be  able  to  keep 
in  personal  touch  with  the  Imperial  Guards.  I  am  to 
go  with  hun. 

To  bed,  therefore,  although  it  is  with  reluctance 
that  I  prepare  to  loose  my  grip  of  the  exciting  con- 
sciousness that  I  have  to-day  seen  tbe  most  stupendous 
spectacle  that  it  is  possible  for  mortal  brain  to  conceive. 

*  Sanchiakou  and  E^aofengtsu  {see  Map  XXII.). 


^mc<« 


64  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Asia  advancing  ;  Europe  falling  back  ;  the  wall  of  mist 
and  the  writing  thereon. 

KosHiSAN,*  Augv^t  28«A,  1904. — Started  at  7  a.m, 
and  marched  with  Kuroki  and  all  the  Headquarters 
Staff,  heading  westwards  towards  Eoshisan.  It  was  a 
lovely  day,  and  as  we  rode  through  a  very  mountainous 
picturesque  country  I  saw  two  eagles  quartering  the 
ground  in  search  of  prey*  During  halts  on  the  march 
to  rest  the  horses  I  wrote  down  the  fragments  of 
conversation  which  follow : 

^^  The  enemy  had  some  remarkably  good  chances  of 
attacking  on  either  flank,  but  lost  them  all  through 
want  of  initiative.  On  our  left  he  did  manifest  some 
energy,  and  thereby  made  us  feel  exceedingly  uncom- 
fortable. Marshal  Kuroki  had  foreseen  this  danger 
and  took  it  upon  himself  to  express  to  the  Marquis 
Oyama  a  strong  opinion  that  the  army  of  Manchuria 
should  detach  some  special  body  of  troops  to  watcli 
our  left  flank  during  the  movement  we  were  ordered  to 
undertake.  The  Generalissimo  did  not,  however, 
accept  this  opinion.  It  was  probably  necessary  to 
refuse  the  request,  but  it  does  seem  a  pity  that  our  left 
flank  could  not  have  been  shielded,  if  not  directly  then 
indirectly  ;  if  not  tactically  then  at  least  strategically. 
Suppose  the  attack  of  the  Second  and  Fourth  Armies 
had  hung  fire  from  any  unforeseen  cause,  then  several 
Divisions  of  Russians  could  have  been  moved  up  the 
main  road  against  our  lefl  I  However,  all  is  well  that 
ends  well,  and  certainly  the  enemy  missed  his  greatest 
opportunity  by  neglecting  to  deliver  a  stroke  against 
our  exposed  right  and  right  rear  from  the  direction  of 
PenchUio  {see  Map  XXIIL ).  Marshal  Kuroki  had  never 
felt    happy   in   his  mind  about  this  detachment  of 

*  LangtfittBhan. 


Thb  Bussians  Betibe  65 

Bussians,  which  consisted  of  at  least  one  regiment  of 
infantry,  one  battery  of  field  artillery,  and  several 
thousand  cavalry,  and  he  disliked  the  idea  of  leaving  it 
behind  him  at  Penchiho  in  a  position  so  threatening  to 
OTir  advance.  He  had  therefore  worked  out  a  com- 
plete scheme  for  breaking  up  the  Bussian  detachments 
both  at  Chaotao  and  Penchiho,  but  at  the  very  last 
moment,  and  with  the  utmost  misgiving  and  regret, 
he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  idea  and  turn  all  his 
attention  to  the  task  of  co-operating  with  the  Fourth 
and  Second  Armies.  However,  we  might  have  spared 
ourselves  sleepless  nights,  for  the  formidable  Penchiho 
contingent  has  retired  quite  inoffensively  and  quietly 
with  the  remainder  of  the  troops  towards  Liaoyang. 

"  During  the  night  of  the  26th,  the  enemy  in  front 
of  the  Second  and  Fourth  Armies  began  to  fall  back 
from  Anshantien.  We  only  got  the  news  at  6.23  p.m. 
on  the  27th — ^yesterday.  This  movement  was  entirely 
unexpected,  and  had  never  seriously  entered  into  our 
calculations.  We,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the 
world,  I  imagine,  recognised  Anshantien  to  be  quite 
the  best  defensive  position  which  could  be  found 
between  Kaiping  and  Liaoyang.  It  is  also  a  matter 
of  common  knowledge  that  the  enemy  had  expended 
an  immense  amount  of  energy,  time  and  money  in 
adding  to  the  natural  strength  of  the  place  by  field- 
works  and  defences  of  every  description.  We  would 
not  of  ourselves  venture  to  ascribe  so  important  a  with- 
drawal of  the  enemy  to  the  merits  of  the  First  Army, 
but  Marshal  Marquis  Oyama,  in  his  telegram  announc- 
ing the  retirement,  specifically  says  that  it  seems  to 
be  due  to  the  highly  honourable  battle  fought  by  us 
on  the  25th  and  on  the  26th,  and  that  he  therefore  has 
pleasure  in  giving  us  his  congratulations.  So  great  a 
n  X 


^■^■^^HiP"^^'^^  ■■■        '    "^ — '^mmm^^mff^^m 


66  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

compliment  must  spur  us  to  still  greater  exertions, 
and  accordingly,  Marshal  Kuroki  issued  orders  to  our 
army  last  night  that  they  must  form  up  to-day,  at  all 
costs  and  regardless  of  the  enemy's  position,  with  their 
right  resting  on  the  Taitsuho  by  Shobioshi  and  their 
line  running  thence  through  Daisekimonrei  down  to 
Shosansi  on  the  left." 

About  midday  we  arrived  at  our  destination,  Roshi- 
san,  quite  an  important  village — ^almoet  a  town.  I 
was  told  off  to  my  quarters  in  a  &rmhouse  half  a  mile 
away  from  headquarters,  which  is  inconvenient.  There 
was  heavy  fighting  going  on  four  or  five  mUes  to  the 
north,  but  I  could  not  get  permission  to  go  out  to  it. 
The  firing,  I  was  told,  was  due  merely  to  the  retiring 
Russians  fighting  a  rear-guard  action,  the  details  of 
which  did  not  concern  the  Headquarters  Staff  In  vain 
I  represented  that  a  rear-guard  action  was  just  the  very 
description  of  fighting  I  most  especially  wished  to 
study.  I  was  informed  that  my  horse  was  very 
exhausted,  and  so,  although  he  had  just  tried  to  buck 
me  off,  I  did  not  argue  the  point  any  further,  as  I  saw 
that,  for  some  reason  or  another,  it  was  considered 
undesirable  that  I  should  go. 

I  was  glad  afterwards  I  had  been  able  to  submit 
with  a  good  grace,  for  at  6.30  p.m.  a  kind  young  officer, 
who  evidently  had  felt  for  my  disappointment,  came  in 
to  see  me  and  to  console  me  by  giving  me  the  latest 
new& 

The  first  and  most  important  item  was  that  at  mid- 
day, just  as  Marshal  Kuroki  arrived  at  his  quarters,  he 
was  handed  a  telegram  from  Oyama's  Chief  of  the 
Staff  informing  him  that  the  Second  Army  hoped  to 
reach  that  day  a  line  extending  from  the  Shaho*  to  the 

*  Not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Shaho  noith  of  Liaoyang. 


Thb  Russians  Retire  67 

river  Liao,  and  the  Fourth  Army  a  line  extending  from 
Tentauyuan  to  Tsaofantun.  The  First  Army  must, 
therefore,  conform  by  pressing  on  without  a  moment's 
delay  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Taitsuho,  and  there 
prepare  to  make  an  immediate  crossing. 

These  instructions  constituted  what  may  fairly  be 
described  as  a  tall  order.  The  First  Army  was  at  the 
moment  facing  north-v^est.  and  was  engaged  in  fight- 
ing  with  the  enemy,  over  a  front  of  some  twenty  miles, 
amidst  the  most  broken,  difficult  terrain  it  is  possible 
to  imagine.  It  was  no  light  task  to  break  off  the 
struggle  or  to  give  a  fresh  direction  to  a  front  so 
extended.  Nevertheless,  my  young  friend  made  light 
of  all  difficulties,  and  laughed  at  the  long  face  I  had 
pulled  in  sympathy  with  the  dilemma  in  which  I  felt 
his  chief  must  now  be  placed. 

Modifications  to  the  orders  issued  last  night  have 
akeady  been  issued,  and  are  to  the  following  effect : 

The  Guards  are  to  take  up  a  line  from  Mokabo  to 
a  hill  a  short  distance  north-west  of  Yayuchi ;  the 
Second  Division  are  to  occupy  Sekishoshi  with  their 
main  force  and  push  out  their  left  until  it  gets  into 
touch  with  the  Guards :  the  Twelfth  Division  are  to 
make  good  Shobyoshi  and  are  to  be  prepared  to  cross 
the  river  between  Kuyentai  and  Sakan.  My  friend 
added,  and  I  wrote  down  :  "These  are  our  intentions, 
but  it  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  enemy  whether 
they  can  be  carried  into  effect.  I  may  tell  you  that  at 
headquarters  they  are  not  very  sanguine  that  the 
Guards  can  now  possibly  succeed  in  carrying  out  their 
part  of  the  programme,  seeing  that  only  an  hour  and 
a  half  ago  the  enemy  was  fighting  hard  and  did  not 
seem  inclined  to  yield  even  one  yard  of  ground^  whereas 
our  men  must  drive  them  back  at  least  six  miles  if 


68  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

they  are  to  bivouac  according  to  their  orders.  Our 
chief  is,  however,  more  hopeful  that  the  Second  and 
Twelfth  Divisions  will  be  able  to  do  their  share  of  the 
business." 

It  was  now  half-past  seven,  and  I  begged  my  visitor 
to  stay  and  have  something  for  the  good  of  my  new 
house.  He  smiled  and  said  he  had  already  been  too 
long  away  from  headquarters,  and  that  he  must  get 
back  to  where  he  could  combine  the  operations  of 
working  and  eating. 

I  asked  him  if  he  thought  he  could  get  me  permis- 
sion to  ride  out  and  see  the  Guards  fighting  through 
to  their  position  to-morrow,  but  he  acknowledged  that, 
in  anticipation  of  some  such  request  being  put  forward 
by  me,  he  had  been  instructed  to  advise  me  to  content 
myself  with  going  over  the  positions  held  by  the 
Guards  and  Eussians  on  the  battle  of  the  26th.  ^^  It 
will  be  fiar  more  valuable  for  you,"  he  urged,  "  than  to 
be  scrambling  about  under  shell  fire  seeing  a  few 
groups  of  infantry  executing  manoeuvres  of  which  you 
will  not  understand  the  full  meaning.  You  have 
Colonel  Hiune  with  the  Guards  Divisional  Head- 
quarters, and  he  will  keep  you  informed  as  to  the 
details  of  the  fight.  If  you  go  out  with  an  officer  of 
the  General  Staff  to-morrow  morning  and  inspect  the 
positions,  some  one  from  headquarters  will  be  sure  to 
see  you  on  your  return  and  tell  you  how  the  battle 
progresses  in  other  parts  of  the  field." 

Fortune  has  been  my  guide  and  staff  during  this 
pilgrimage  through  Manchuria,  and  I  can  but  follow  her 
blindly  and  hope  for  the  best.  I  did  not  therefore 
even  struggle  against  my  fate  and  tried  to  swallow 
my  disappointment  as  if  I  were  enjoying  its  bitter 
flavom*. 


The  Bussians  Bbtibe  69 

BosHiSAN,  August  29ih,  1904. — A  message  has 
come  over  to  say  that,  if  I  will  defer  my  start  for  the 
battlefield  until  11  a. M.  and  call  at  headquarters  on 
my  way  out,  I  will  be  posted  up  in  all  the  latest  news. 

is  in  low  spirits  to-day.    He  says,  "  Cest  le 

moment  fort  d^icat"  I  think  our  moment  dAicat 
was  the  26th  instant,  and  that  prospects  improve  with 
every  mile  of  our  advance,  for  the  three  armies  are 
now  almost  in  touch,  and  support  should  surely  be 
forthcoming  from  Oyama  if  we  find  ourselves  in  a 
place  too  tight  for  us. 

10  P.M. — ^I  saw  one  of  the  Staff  on  my  way  out  to 
the  battlefield,  and  took  down  the  following,  verbatim  : 

"  Before  you  visit  the  scene  of  the  struggle  of  the 
26th  between  the  Guards  and  the  Bussians,  I  am 
authorised  to  give  you  some  further  instruction.  All 
goes  well.  Notwithstanding  the  sudden  change  of 
plan  which  was  sprung  upon  us  by  Manchurian  Army 
Headquarters  at  midday  yesterday,*  the  Twelfth 
DivisL  was  last  night  able  to  make  good  its  new 
point  without  much  fighting.  The  Headquarters  and 
main  force  of  the  Second  Division  were  not  so  fortunate 
They  were  delayed  by  fog  to  begin  with,  and  then 
they  found  very  few  practicable  fords  over  the  Tangho. 
Moreover,  the  Russians  offered  a  stubborn  resistance^ 
not  only  to  the  crossing,  but  also  to  the  fiirther 
advance  up  the  hills  on  the  western  bank  of  the  river. 
Consequently,  Gleneral  Nishi's  main  body  has  only 
succeeded  in  making  good  a  hill  a  very  short  distance 
to  the  north  of  Sandiasi  (Sketch  XIX.). 

'^  The  left  brigade  of  the  Second  Division  (Matsu- 
naga's  Third  Brigade)  has,  however,  had  much  better 
luck.     It  made  a  night  attack  on  the  enemy  north  of 

*  See  Orders  on  p.  67. 


WW^^'^mm^^'^^^^^'^mmwVH"^   "^"^m^^^ 


70  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Sandiasi,  and  after  some  stiff  fighting  captured  that 
position.  Not  content  with  a  success,  which  would 
have  been  considered  brilliant  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  Matsunaga  managed  to  press  on  in  pursuit  all 
through  the  night,  climbing  lofty  mountains  and 
scrambling  across  ravines  until,  just  as  dawn  was 
breakings  he  occupied  the  highest  peak  of  the  Seki- 
monrei  range  (marked  243  on  Map  XXII.).  In  answer 
to  our  warm  congratulations  he  has  just  sent  back  a 
message,  saying  that  from  this  captured  peak  he  can 
see  the  promised  land  stretching  out  before  him,  and  the 
fair  city  of  Liaoyang  itself  encircling  the  famous  pagoda 
(Sketch  XX.).     In  fact,  he  has  become  quite  poetical  I 

''  Lastly,  we  come  to  the  Imperial  Guards,  whose 
progress  has  been  disappointing.  They  vigorously 
attacked  a  Bussian  brigade  which  lay  across  their  line 
of  advance  at  Weizugo,*  but  the  enemy  had  three 
successive  prepared  positions  and  offered  a  stubborn 
resistance.  Consequently,  the  Guards  have  only 
succeeded  in  reaching  a  line,  Shihodai-Shosanshi,  and 
cannot  at  present  get  any  further  (Map  XXII.).  They 
report,  moreover,  that  the  line  they  were  ordered  to  take 
up,  namely,  Mokabo-Yayuchi,  appears  to  be  the  very 
position  selected  by  the  Bussians  for  more  formidable 
defences  than  any  yet  encountered.  However,  we 
shall  see  about  that  later  on.  Meanwhile,  the  Guards 
cavalry,  working  wide  on  their  left,  has  got  into  touch 
with  the  cavalry  of  the  Fourth  Army  at  Kunshintai. 
Thus,  you  see,  good  and  evil  fairly  balance  one  another. 

"  The  Twelfth  Division  has  done  aU  that  they  were 
asked  to  do.  The  main  body  of  the  Second  Division 
has  fallen  short  of  its  objective  by  six  miles,  but,  to 
counterbalance  this  shortcoming,  Matsunaga's  Brigade 
has  exceeded  its  orders,  and  instead  of  merely  linking 

*  Chinese,  Weiohiakou. 


fTt*  or 


Russian 

VIEW  OF  THMI 
TUB  2ND  DIVISIOl 


^  ^     ^'mm,  i  M.  M 


Thb  Russians  Betire  71 

up  with  the  Guards,  has  seized  a  commanding  point 
considerably  in  advance  of  their  right. 

**  The  Imperial  Guards  Division  is  the  only  one  which 
has  not  succeeded  at  any  point  in  carrying  out  its 
orders.  There  is  no  help  for  this,  and  more  cannot  be 
expected  from  any  troops  than  to  fight  three  actions 
against  a  strong  rearward,  within  as  many  mUes.  and 
to  win  them  each  time.  It  seems  probable,  too,  that 
the  threatening  advance  of  Matsunaga  behind  the  left 
of  the  troops  engaged  with  the  Guards  will  facilitate 
to-day's  advance.  On  the  whole  then.  Marshal  Kuroki 
is  well  satisfied. 

"  You  must  not  forget  that  each  of  our  Divisions  is 
faced  by  a  Russian  Division,  and  that  the  enemy  have 
moreover  two  full  Divisions  in  reserve.  We  have  lost 
comparatively  few  men  the  last  two  days,  but  we  lost 
2000  on  the  26th  instant.  The  Second  Division  suffered 
severely  in  the  night  attack.  For  instance,  the  4th 
Regiment  lost  its  Colonel  and  the  three  Battalion 
Commanders. 

*^  To-day  the  Fourth  Army  will  advance  to  the  line 
it  was  thought  they  might  have  occupied  yesterday, 
viz. :  Saka  (Shaho)  to  Shuisenpu  {see  Map  XXIII.). 
The  Second  Army  should  certainly  reach  the  line 
from  Shaho  to  the  river  Liao.  It  is  desired  by  Man- 
churian  headquarters  that  the  First  Army  should 
take  up  a  line  from  the  right  of  the  Fourth  Army  at 
Shuisenpu  to  the  end  of  the  mountains  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Taitsuho  at  KotagaL^  But  the  enemy  is 
occupying  this  very  line  of  mountains  from  Shuisenpu 
by  Mokabo,  and  his  trenches  follow  the  crests  of  the 
ridges  in  a  north-easterly  direction  down  to  the 
Taitsuho  at  EotagaL 

**  The  position  of  the  enemy  would  be  enormously 

*  Obinese,  Houtaohieh. 


72  A  Staff  Offiokb's  Scrap-Book 

strong  if  the  First  Army  stood  alone,  but  the  Fourth 
Army  has  very  favourable  ground  in  front  of  it,  which 
should  facilitate  a  turning  movement  of  the  right  of 
the  Russians  in  front  of  this  army.  The  problem  now 
to  be  solved  is,  will  the  enemy  defend  his  present  line, 
or  will  he  fall  back  on  Mukden  ?  Supposing  he  retires 
to  the  north,  he  would  have  to  face  the  probability  of 
losing  a  considerable  force  in  order  that  he  might  save 
the  bulk  of  his  army. 

"Prospects  would  be  bright  were  it  not  for  the 
fatigue  of  our  soldiers,  amongst  whom  the  Guards  have 
now  been  moving  and  fighting  for  five  days  and  nights 
without  respite,  and  the  other  Divisions  for  four  days 
and  nighta  The  enemy  imagined  that,  after  the 
desperate  fighting  of  the  26th,  we  would  not  press  on 
so  fast  as  we  have  contrived  to  do  until  now.  On 
previous  occasions,  we  have  paused  for  a  while  after 
each  encounter,  but  this  time  we  have  pushed  on  day 
and  night,  and  we  have  the  good  news  from  Chinese 
sources  that  the  greatest  confusion  and  disorder  prevails 
amongst  the  Eussians  on  the  road  between  Haicheng 
and  Liaoyang." 

Thereupon  I  took  my  leave  and  passed  a  very  inter- 
esting day  in  going  over  the  Eussian  entrenchments 
and  the  battlefield  of  the  26th  generally. 

I  shall  not  burden  my  diary  with  any  technical  de* 
scriptions  beyond  saying  that  the  Eussian  gun-pits  and 
trenches  were  very  complete  and  thorough,  many  of 
them  being  lined  with  sandbags,  and  having  covered 
approaches  leading  fi*om  the  rear.  The  terrain  is  more 
open  here  than  it  was  on  the  centre  and  right,  but  I  am 
becoming  increasingly  certain,  as  I  gain  in  experience, 
that  defence  lines  of  the  forbidding,  precipitous  type 
are  in  truth  generally  more  open  to  attack  than  a 


The  Bussians  Bbtikb  73 

simple,  gently  rising  terrain  which  fiu^nishes  those  who 
hold  it  with  a  wide,  smooth  field  of  fire  and  good 
positions  for  their  guns. 

I  have  now  thoroughly  examined  the  country  held 
by  the  Eussian  centre  and  right,  extending  over  a  dis- 
tance of  perhaps  fourteen  miles.  I  have  also  seen,  at  a 
great  distance  it  is  true,  the  lofty  Kosarei  ridge  held 
by  the  Bussian  left,  which  is,  however,  so  conspicuous 
and  distinctive  that  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  form  an 
idea  of  its  features  without  any  close  inspection. 

The  conclusion  I  have  come  to  after  thus  mastering 
the  ground,  is  that  the  Bussians  made  a  fatal  mistake 
in  taking  up  the  line  Yoshirei-Yushuling  to  fight  the 
battle  of  the  31st  of  July  {see  vol.  L). 

The  Toshirei  position,  with  its  great  spearheaded 
salient  enclosing  the  Towan  valley,  did  not  naturally 
afford  a  symmetrical  or  cohesive  line  of  defence, 
although  certainly  General  Keller  made  the  best  of  it, 
especially  by  his  clever  disposition  of  his  artillery. 
Then  again,  the  Yushuling  position,  with  Makurayama 
as  an  outwork,  was  decidedly  awkward  and  ill-knit  to 
hold  against  a  determined  attack.  But  the  great 
semicircular  line  of  defence  from  which  the  Bussians 
have  just  been  driven  was  immensely  strong  and 
offered  nothing  which  could  fairly  be  called  a  weak 
spot  to  an  assailant  from  the  south.  I  think,  then, 
that  it  would  have  been  wiser  of  Count  Keller  and 
Turchefisky  to  have  fought  their  battle  of  the  31st  on 
the  line  selected  for  the  battle  of  the  26th  August. 
Had  the  Bussians  acted  thus,  and  resisted  as 
stubbornly  as  they  did  at  Yoshirei,  I  greatly  doubt 
whether  the  Japanese  would  not  still  be  fighting  hard 
on  the  wrong  side  of  the  Tangho. 

No  doubt  it  may  be  objected  that,  when  Count 


^ —        ■  I  «H  1^  ■ 


74  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Keller  was  attacked  on  the  3l8t  July,  he  was  thinking 
rather  of  offence  against  the  Twelfth  Division  than  of 
defending  himself.  Indeed,  onc#  might-have-beens 
make  their  speculative  entry,  argument  becomes  as 
endless  as  a  recurring  decimal  Still,  this  much  is 
certain.  The  Eussian  positions  on  the  31st  of  July 
were  unsatisfactory  in  many  ways.  Those  from  which 
they  have  now  been  ejected  are  exceptionally  perfect 
and  strong. 

I  have  a  message  from  headquarters  telling  me  that 
to-morrow  the  Twelfth  Division  will  not  move,  but  will 
simply  reconnoitre  on  both  banks  of  the  Taitsuho  and 
complete  its  preparations  for  a  crossing.  The  main  part 
of  the  Second  Division  is  also  to  stand  fast,  as  it  must 
wait  for  the  Guards  to  fight  their  way  up  into  line. 

The  only  fighting  that  is  to  take  place  to-morrow, 
unless  the  Russians  advance,  is  to  be  a  big  attack  by 
the  whole  of  the  Guards  Division,  supported  by  Mat- 
simaga's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division,  on  the  enemy 
entrenched  north  of  Mokabo.  I  am  further  informed 
that  as  I  acted  so  philosophically  in  face  of  the  refusal 
to  let  me  go  into  the  battle  yesterday,  the  Marshal 
Kuroki  is  pleased  to  direct  that  I  may  go  off  to-morrow 

with  Colonel and  ride  via  Kohoshi  and  Shihodai  * 

towards  Mokabo.t  I  am  authorised  to  approach  as 
close  to  Mokabo  slb  is  compatible  with  keeping  clear  of 
rifle  fire. 

Such  a  permission,  giving  me  almost  unlimited 
discretion  as  to  my  movements,  sounds  almost  too 
good  to  be  true. 

*  Ssufangtai.  f  Mencbiafang. 


CHAPTEK  XXII 
WITH  THE  GUARDS  DIVISION 

BosHiSAN,  Arigvst  SOth,  1904. — Wet,  tired,  hungry; 
all  my  belongings  lost,  and  in  return  a  little  English 
fox  terrier  gained. 

But  I  must  begin  at  the  beginning. 

We  started  at  9  a.m.  and  rode  northwards  for  some 
fourteen  miles — at  a  great  pace,  according  to  Japanese 
ideas.  Fortunately,  my  companion  was  just  as  eager 
as  I  was  to  get  within  radius  of  the  fighting.  At  last 
we  entered  the  shell  zone  and  found  the  troops  hugging 
the  sides  of  the  valleys  and  creeping  and  darting  along 
in  real  South  African  style,  instead  of  marching  down 
the  path  in  the  usual  columns  of  route.  Our  guide 
here  turned  to  the  left,  and  we  clambered  up  a  height 
about  one  and  a  heJf  or  two  miles  south-east  of  Mokabo. 
On  arriving  at  the  summit  we  found  we  were  about  one 
mile  north-west  of  another  similar  high  mountain  on 
which  were  two  Japanese  batteries  firing  an  occasional 
shell  to  the  northwards.  An  extraordinary  nmnber  of 
Bussian  shells  were  bursting,  apparently  very  much  at 
random,  over  all  the  ground.  The  enemy  evidently 
had  not  located  the  Japanese  batteries,  for  although  a 
good  many  shells  did  fall  about  that  mountain  a  con- 
siderably greater  number  were  bursting  harmlessly  on 

the  mountain  upon  which ,  myself,  and  an  officer 

from  the  Guards  ammunition  column  were  the  only 


76  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

living  beings.  A  few  came  from  the  north  ;  first  a  &int 
far-away  whirr  passing  with  swift  crescendo  into  a 
furious  shriek,  and  ending  in  flash  of  flame  and  loud 
explosion,  whilst  the  released  bullets,  like  a  flight  of 
twittering  birds,  hissed  past  oui-  ears  or  buried  them- 
selves  amongst  the  stones  at  our  feet.  Others,  the 
majority,  drove  down  upon  us  with  a  solemn  musical 
sound  from  the  east,  but  these  were  fired  at  extreme 
range,  and  the  bullets  had  lost  their  sharp  and  vicious 
note  and  buzzed  heavy  and  slow  like  so  many  harmless 
bumble-bees.  In  no  case  could  I  see  the  enemy's 
batteries.  All  the  country  looked  melancholy  and 
darL 

I  felt  to-day  as  if  a  tragedy  was  being  enacted :  such 
is  the  effect  of  mere  weather  on  the  mortal  framework 
which  is  to  our  sensitive  souls  what  the  barometer  case 
is  to  the  changing  needle. 

The  whole  of  the  valleys  north  of  us  were  at  intervals 
shrouded  by  the  smoke  of  the  rafales.  Under  this  rain 
of  projectiles  the  Japanese  batteries  kept  very  quiet, 
being  unwilling,  I  imagine,  to  draw  upon  themselves  a 
more  accurate  and  concentrated  fire.  On  the  top  of 
the  mountain  from  which  the  two  batteries  were  firing, 
I  counted  nine  individuals  in  waterproofs  (for  it  was 
raining),  and  made  them  out  to  be  the  foreign  military 
attaches  belonging  to  the  Guards  Division. 

I  could  see  very  clearly  the  firing-line  of  the  Japanese 
about  3000  yards  to  the  north.  It  lay  along  a  rounded 
cultivated  ridge  about  one-third  of  the  way  up  to  the 
Russian  trenches,  which  looked  uncompromising  and 
grim.  The  distance  between  the  Japanese  and  the 
Russians  cannot  here  have  been  more  than  300  yards. 
The  firing-line  itself  was  thick,  and  it  was  shooting  for 
all  it  was  worth,  but  I  noticed  some  supports  come  up 


With  the  Guards  Division  77 

over  the  exposed  ground  in  rear  to  reinforce,  and  they 
crossed  at  a  fast  double  and  in  very  open  order. 
In  fact,  they  moved  more  as  individuals  than  as  a 
formed  body,  and  if  they  had  not  been  so  numerous,  I 
should  have  thought  they  were  ammunition  carriers. 
The  officer  of  the  ammunition  colunm  told  us  that  the 
troops  we  saw  were  the  3rd  Guards  Begiment,  and 
that  the  29th  Kobi  was  also  fighting  in  front  of  us. 
No  one  knew  how  the  fight  was  going,  but  he  opined 
that  these  two  regiments  had  got  into  a  very  tight 
place.  Just  as  we  were  speaking,  the  Japanese  bat- 
teries on  the  hill  to  our  right  rear  opened  a  brisk  fire 
on  the  Russian  trenches.  Before  a  dozen  rounds  had 
burst,  I  saw,  to  my  surprise,  the  occupants  clear  out 
and  bolt  back  over  the  crest  line.  Nevertheless,  for  a 
very  long  time  the  Japanese  could  make  no  advance 
as  the  ground  to  their  front  appeared  to  be  enfiladed 
from  Russian  trenches  further  to  the  east. 

At  half-past  three,  however,  the  time  had  evidently 
come,  and  I  had  the  great  luck  to  witness  an  assault 
at  a  distance  where  I  could  distinguish  through  my 
glasses  the  individual  men  more  clearly  than  on  either 
the  81st  of  July  or  on  the  26th  instant.  There  was 
no  formation,  unless  little  groups  of  from  six  to  a 
dozen  men  working  quite  independently  could  be 
called  formation.  What  happened  was  that  the  face 
of  the  slope  was  suddenly  covered  by  a  loose  mob 
which,  when  regarded  more  closely,  was  discovered  to 
consist  of  very  small  parties  extended  at  five  or  six 
paces  interval,  all  going  best  leg  foremost  up  the  hill 
and  devil  take  the  hindmost. 

I  was  rather  too  far  to  be  able  to  say  positively 
that  there  was  no  firing,  but  there  could  have  been 
but  little,  as  all  these  groups  seemed  to  mask  one 


78  A  Staff  Offiokr's  Scrap-Book 

another  completely.  The  artillery  had  already  cleared 
the  trencheSi  but  other  works  further  to  the  east  were 
still  held  by  the  enemy,  and  even  after  getting  into 
the  position  some  of  the  Japanese  had  had  to  evacuate 
it  again  and  take  up  better  natural  cover  a  short  dis- 
tance in  rear.  Had  there  been  many  dead  left  behind 
by  the  assault  I  think  I  must  have  seen  them,  but  I 
noticed  no  one  fall,  and  I  believe  there  can  have  been 
hardly  any  loss.  Now  the  Japanese  were  certainly 
under  infantry  fire  at  medium  range  when  they  covered 
the  last  100  yards  to  the  trenches,  so  their  immunity 
does  not  say  very  much  for  the  accuracy  of  the  Russian 
musketry.  It  is  not  fair,  of  course,  to  be  positive  on 
such  a  point  from  the  safety  of  rocks  nearly  two  miles 
distant.  The  ground  may  have  given  more  cover  than 
it  seemed  to  give,  or  the  Russians  may  have  been 
imder  heavy  infantry  fire  from  other  troops  I  could  not 
see.  All  I  can  do  is  to  give  my  honest  belief  each  time 
and  then  at  the  end  I  may  hope  to  convey  a  trustworthy 
general  impression.  Applying  this  rule  to  the  case  in 
point,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  our  own  fellows 
would  have  taken  very  heavy  toll  of  the  assailants 
under  identical  conditions. 

Prospects  seemed  bright  for  the  Japanese,  but 
obviously  the  Russians  were  still  in  a  stubborn  mood. 
I  was  looking  at  the  crest  of  a  mountain,  with  a 
tumulus  on  ito  western  shoulder,  which  formed  part  of 
the  Russian  position,  when  suddenly  I  saw  a  line  of 
some  two  hundred  men  step  shoulder  to  shoulder 
on  to  the  sky  line  and  into  the  field  of  vision  of  my 
glass.  I  uttered  an  exclamation,  and  took  my  eye  off 
to  point  them  out  to  my  two  companions.  Next 
moment  I  looked  again,  but  not  a  soul  could  I  see. 
Evidently  these  were  Russian  reinforcements  who  had 


With  the  Guards  Division  79 

dropped  into  a  trench  on  the  southern  side  of  the  crest 
line. 

For  a  long  time,  had  been  growing  restive, 

and  now  he  insisted  that  he  would  get  into  trouble  if 
I  did  not  make  a  start  on  our  return  journey,  as  he 
had  promised  to  bring  me  back  to  headquarters  by 
a  reasonable  hour.  There  was  no  help  for  it,  and  I 
had  to  tear  myself  away  as  best  I  could  from  a  fight 
half  fought. 

Soon  after  starting  on  our  long  ride  home,  we  came 
across  a  little  white  English  fox  terrier  being  worried 
by  a  huge  pariah  dog.  A  Chinaman  had  just  driven 
off  the  monster  with  a  stone,  and  the  plucky  terrier, 
though  bleeding  from  the  throat,  was  joining  furiously 
in  the  chase  of  the  pariah  which  was  quite  ready  to 
fasten  on  to  it  again  if  given  a  chance.  I  whistled. 
Instantly  the  little  beast  rushed  to  my  horse,  enchanted 
once  more  to  see  a  European  amongst  all  these  Asiatics. 
The  Chinaman  seemed  inclined  to  make  some  claim, 
but  I  put  my  horse  into  a  brisk  trot,  and  the  small 
creature  followed  me  quite  gaily.  After  we  had 
travelled  a  mile  or  two,  whilst  she  was  running  ahead 
of  me,  some  evil  recollection  seemed  to  cross  her 
mind,  for  she  sat  down  suddenly  by  the  roadside  and 
raising  her  head  set  up  the  most  forlorn  and  miserable  ' 
howl  I  ever  heard  in  my  life.  I  felt  indeed  sad  for 
this  poor  little  atom.  It  was  pitiful.  However,  the 
pang  of  grief  passed  quickly,  and  soon  she  was  running 
and  jumping  about  as  cheerfully  as  ever. 

Our  horses  were  dead  beat,  and  our  road  very  soon 
got  blocked  with  transport  and  detachments  of  troops 
and  all  the  impedimenta  of  a  great  army.  Before  long 
it  grew  dusk,  and  so  in  heavy  rain  we  floundered 
along,  amidst  crowds  of  men  and  vehicles.     At  last 


_  I 


80  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

I  could  see  no  further  than  ten  or  fifteen  yards,  yet, 
whenever  I  cast  my  eye  back  I  was  aware  of  a  white 
dot  threading  its  way  close  at  my  horse's  heels,  in  and 
out  of  hordes  of  Asiatics,  clinging  on  to  the  one 
European,  who,  like  itself,  was  a  stranger  amongst  the 
multitude.  Twice  we  had  to  cross  the  Tangho,  here  two 
to  three  feet  deep  and  100  yards  wide.  *  Through  thick 
and  thin  my  small  fellow-country  dog  stuck  to  me  nobly. 
The  first  time  she  swam  the  broad  river,  although  it 
must  have  seemed  to  her  as  boundless  as  the  ocean,  but 
the  next  time  I  got  Sergeant- Major  Watanabe  to  hold 
her  before  him  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  So,  in 
course  of  time,  namely,  at  9.40  p.m.,  we  reached  our 
house,  and  found  all  dark  and  still.  But  there  was  a  cart 
drawn  up  before  the  gate,  and  our  entry  was  effectively 
barred.  After  shouting  for  a  long  time  we  roused  the 
household,  and  were  informed  that,  by  order  of  the 
General  Staff,  our  entire  kit  had  marched  away  to 
Amping,  twelve  miles  distant,  at  three  in  the  after- 
noon. 

Here  was  a  fine  predicament !  Horses  dead  beat ! 
Ourselves  soaked,  tired  and  hungry ;  heavy  rain  falling, 
and  not  the  smallest  chance  of  getting^to  Amping  that 
night.  I  was  very  sorry  for  myself,  and  also  more  so 
for  my  new  chum.  I  felt  she  must  think  I  had  lured 
her  on  with  false  pretences,  and  I  am  sure  she 
expected  to  find  a  nice  Russian  lady,  with  tea  and 
cakes,  waiting  for  us  by  the  side  of  a  warm  stove, 
after  so  painful  a  journey.  Eventually  we  resolved  to 
tryand  beat  up  some  one  at  Eo8hisan,and  we  managed  to 
make  our  horses  crawl  back  as  far  as  the  village.  Here 
we  have  fortunately  found  a  Post  Commandant,  a  very 
kind  man,  who  has  taken  us  in  and  given  us  a  splendid 
meal  of  rice,   tomatoes,   and  Russian  tinned  meat^ 


With  the  Guabds  Division  81 

washed  down  with  sake.  He  has  also  lent  us  each  a 
Grovernment  blanket  from  his  quartermaster's  stores, 
and  our  wet  things  wiU  dry  upon  us  during  the 
night. 

EuBODANi  {near  Lbntowan),  August  3l5«,  1904. — 
Started  for  Amping  at  9  A.M.  Our  horses  were  still 
dead  beat,  after  their  thirty  miles  yesterday,  and 
hardly  able  to  crawl  along.  We  took  four  hours,  there- 
fore, to  do  the  twelve  miles,  and  when  we  got  into 
Amping  village  at  1  p.m.  we  found  our  kit  in  the  act 
of  starting  again  to  follow  the  headquarters  on  here, 
where  we  are  quartered  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Taitsuho.  Taking  out  some  barley  for  the  horses  and 
some  rice  for  ourselves,  we  let  the  cart  go  on,  and 
halted  for  a  couple  of  hours'  rest. 

To  my  intense  surprise,  I  found  that  the  Chinese 
farmer  who  was  our  host  could  talk  some  English ;  he 
also  seemed  to  know  at  once  that  I  was  a  British  officer, 
and  hurried  off  to  bring  me  his  Chinese  Bible,  of  which 
he  was  immensely  proud.  He  is  a  pupil,  so  he  tells 
me,  of  Doctor  Westwater,  of  Liaoyang. 

I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  the  Russians. 

He  said  they  were  kind  men  who  paid  for  what 
they  took,  but  that  they  were  somewhat  wanting  in 
humanity.  As  he  had  in  the  same  breath  informed  me 
that  they  did  not  do  any  harm,  I  could  not  quite  follow 

him.  At  last,  however,  by  the  help  of and  Sumino, 

I  made  out  that  his  true  meaning  was,  ''  The  Russians 
are  somewhat  wanting  in  the  quality  of  being  human." 
I  was  amused,  as  this  is  precisely  the  accusation 
Occidentals  bring  against  the  Chinese. 

When  I  caught  up  Headquarters  here  at  5.30  p.m.,  I 
found  them  decidedly  anxious  and  preoccupied.  I  was 
naturally  full  of  my  own  small  adventures  and  obser- 
n  F 


82  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

vations'^on  the  left  of  the  army,  but  the  moment  was 
obviously  ill  suited  for  bagatelles  of  that  sort.  How- 
ever, from  the  few  minutes'  speech  I  secured,  I  gathered 
I  had  been  fortunate — if,  indeed,  it  can  be  said  to  be 
fortunate  to  witness  a  misfortune — when  I  went  to  the 
Guards  yesterday. 

It  seems  that  the  3rd  Guards  and  the  29th  Kobi, 
whom  I  had  seen  so  gallantly  take  the  greater  portion 
of  the  enemy's  trenches,  had  received  no  assistance 
&om  any  of  the  other  corps  in  their  vicinity,  and  that 
they  were  eventually  driven  back  by  the  Russians,  who 
have  now  re-occupied  all  their  previous  positions.  The 
Guards,  far  from  having  any  idea  of  renewing  the 
assault,  are  entrenching  themselves  as  hard  as  they 
can  against  a  counter-attack. 

This  is  a  contretemps  not  only  unexpected,  but  at  the 
present  juncture  peculiarly  deplorable.  For  the  plan 
by  which  (as  I  hear  for  the  first  time)  Kuroki  was  to 
concentrate  the  whole  of  his  army  near  Huankufun,"*^  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Taitsuho,  by  the  2nd  September, 
has  now  been  abandoned. 

It  had  been  reckoned  that  by  this  date  the  Fourth 
Army  would  have  advanced  far  enough  to  be  able  to 
relieve  the  Imperial  Guards,  so  that  they  might  close 
in  and  cross  the  Taitsuho  with  the  rest  of  the  First 
Army.  Had  the  scheme  worked  out  smoothly,  then, 
with  his  own  army  complete  and  with  the  co-operation 
of  the  Umezawa  Brigade  from  Penchiho,  Kuroki  could  . 

have  led  50,000  veteran  and  victorious  troops  in  a  ' 

tremendous  onslaught  on  the  Russian  lines  of  commu- 
nication. But  the  Fourth  Army  has  not  come  as  far 
as  Kuroki  had  expected,  and  I  daresay,  although  I  did 
not  venture  tiO  make  such  a  suggestion,  that  the  Guards  i 

*  Chinese,  Huankufen,  j 


• 


With  the  Guabds  Division  83 

have  not  come  as  far  as  Marshal  the  Marquis  Oyama 
had  reckoned  on.  It  is  naturally  quite  impossible  to 
bring  the  Guards  away,  as  they  are  all  that  stand 
between  the  Russians,  who  have  victoriously  repulsed 
them,  and  the  communications  of  the  First  Army.  As 
soon  as  Kuroki  crosses  the  Taitsuho,  only  the  Guards 
Division  and  Matsunaga's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Divi- 
sion will  be  available  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  to 
prevent  the  enemy  at  Mokabo,  or  east  of  it,  from 
marching  right  down  to  Amping.  But  it  is  impossible 
to  accentuate  a  risk  which  is  serious  enough  already 
by  still  further  weakening  this  Japanese  containing 
force.  Otherwise  Kuroki  would  be  positively  inviting 
the  Russians  about  Mokabo  to  come  down  and  cut  his 
communications. 

It  can  be  understood  then  how  disappointed  every 
one  here  feels  about  the  failure  of  the  Guards,  which 
renders  it  necessary  for  Kuroki  to  make  his  perilous 
plunge  minus  their  support  and  that  of  Matsunaga's 
Brigade.  It  is  not  the  habit  of  the  Japanese  to  attri- 
bute blame ;  not  in  the  presence  of  foreigners,  at  least, 
but  I  can  see  that  there  is  no  sort  of  tendency  to  criticise 
the  Guards.  On  the  other  hand,  no  one  can  understand 
how  it  has  come  about  that  the  Second  Division  did  not 
support  them  with  Matsunaga's  Brigade.  It  seems 
that  Matsunaga  looked  on  yesterday  and  never  fired  a 
shot  to  help  the  Guards  to  hold  their  own.  Matsunaga 
himself  is  a  splendid  fellow,  and  no  doubt  there  will 
be  a  satisfactory  explanation  forthcoming  in  the  course 
of  the  next  day  or  two. 

Meanwhile,  it  may  be  noted  that  this  check  to 
Kuroki's  left  would  not  so  very  much  have  mattered 
had  the  plan  of  the  battle  been  based  on  correct 
assxmiptions  regarding  the  enemy. 


84  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

If  Kuropatkin  is  going  to  put  his  back  to  the  wall 
at  Liaoyang  and  fight  the  decisive  engagement  of  the 
campaigii.as  has  hitherto  been  assumed  by  the  Japanese, 
then^here  is  no  extraordii^  cause  for  hur^.  and 
the  concentration  of  the  First  Army  at  Huankufun 
might  almost  as  well  have  taken  place  on  the  3rd  as 
on  the  2nd  September.  But  now  a  new  and  unforeseen 
factor  has  all  of  a  sudden  obtruded  itself.  Kuropatkin 
is  not  going  to  stake  Russia's  destinies  on  the  issue  of 
a  single  great  battle.  This  time  he  is  not  going  to 
repeat  the  tactics  of  the  Talu  and  sit  still  whilst 
around  him  the  Japanese  General  Staff  spider 
spins  her  web.  Last  night  he  made  up  his  mind  to 
retire  1  * 

Such  is  the  opinion  of  our  Headquarters  to-night, 

*  Some  remarks  made  later  on  this  subject  by  a  very  well-informed 
Staff  officer  supply  an  interesting  comment  on  this  part  of  the 
diary,  especially  as  there  seems  to  underlie  them  an  intention  to 
anticipate  adverse  criticism.  He  said :  ''It  was  on  August  SOth 
that  the  event  took  place  which  prevented  us  from  making  our  pre- 
arranged attack  on  Liaoyang.  That  is  to  say,  the  attack  could  not 
be  carried  into  effect  on  the  lines  we  had  carefully  thought  out,  and 
we  simply  had  to  push  off  into  pursuit  from  whatever  positions  we 
were  occupying  at  the  moment.  I  do  not  know  what  Kuropatkin 
may  have  reported  in  this  connection,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  on  the 
80tii  the  enemy  began  to  retire.  From  the  positions  held  by  the 
Second  and  Twelfth  Divisions  we  could  see  the  enemy  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Taitsuho  falling  back  on  Liaoyang,  whilst  two  or  three 
of  his  Divisions  were  crossing  the  river  and  moving  northwards. 
Erom  the  position  held  by  the  Guards  we  could  see  also  that  the 
enemy  from  Koraison  was  also  retiring  on  Liaoyang.  Finally,  from 
information  received  from  Marshal  the  Marquis  Oyama  the  enemy 
seemed  to  be  falling  back  even  from  Liaoyang  itself.  If  this  evidence 
was  not  already  quite  conclusive  that  Kuropatkin  was  in  full  retreat, 
I  might  adduce  the  further  fact  that  from  hill  186  we  could  see  the 
railway  north  of  Liaoyang,  along  which  trains  were  passing  in  the 
direction  of  Mukden,  at  intervals  of  five  or  six  minutes.  Therefore, 
whatever  the  Bussians  may  now  pretend,  we  actually,  with  our  own 


I 


With  thb  Guabds  Division  85 

and  on  it  they  have  based  a  fresh  scheme  in  sub- 
stitution for  their  original  carefuUy  weighed  plan  of 
operations. 

Put  into  a  few  words,  the  latest  arrangements  pro- 
vide for  the  immediate  hurried  crossing  of  the  Taitsuho 
by  Kuroki  at  the  head  of  little  more  than  one-third  of 
his  army.  Indeed,  there  is  no  help  for  it,  supposing 
that  he  must  forthwith  take  the  fateful  step.  Obvi- 
ously, the  Umezawa  Brigade  cannot  leave  Ohaotao 
without  first  driving  the  Russians  out  of  Penchiho,  and 
cannot  therefore  co-operate  for  several  days.  And  I 
have  already  shown  how  the  Guards,  and  Matsunaga's 
Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  cannot  possibly  march 

eyes,  did  see  them  on  August  30th  retreating  as  fast  as  they  could. 
The  question  we  now  have  to  solve  is,  what  course  under  such 
circumstances  should  have  been  pursued  by  the  Commander  of  the 
First  Army  ?  It  seemed  clear  enough  that  he  was  bound  to  abandon 
the  plan  of  attack  he  had  so  carefully  prepared,  and  that,  however 
hazardous  and  difficult  such  a  movement  might  be,  he  must  instantly 
despatch  such  a  force  as  he  could  lay  his  hands  upon  across  the 
Taitsuho.  The  Second  and  Fourth  Armies  were  also  compelled  to 
depart  from  their  well-thought-out  schemes,  and  simply  pursue  the 
Russians  as  best  they  could.  It  was  under  these  circumstances  that 
the  Marshal  Kuroki  ordered  the  Twelfth  Division  and  half  of  the 
Second  Division  to  cross  the  Taitsuho  at  Lentowan.  The  only 
possible  excuse  for  so  small  a  force  putting  a  swift  and  deep  river 
between  them  and  their  friends  was  that  the  enemy  was  retreating. 
Kuropatkin  determined  to  retreat,  and  began  his  preparations  for 
that  purpose  on  the  evening  of  August  29th.  If  it  were  true,  as 
Kuropatkin  has  reported,  that  his  army  began  to  retreat  on  Septem- 
ber 3rd,  then  he  could  not  possibly  have  carried  it  out  in  so  masterly 
a  manner  unless  he  had  first  defeated  the  Japanese  armies.'' 

As  this  is  a  very  much  discussed  subject,  I  thought  I  would  settle 
it  once  and  for  all  as  far  as  the  Japanese  are  concerned.  Accord- 
ingly, I  took  an  opportunity  during  the  winter  of  consulting  the 
Ohief  of  Staff,  Manchurian  Armies — Qeneral  Baron  Kodama — and 
he  replied  to  my  question,  **  Kuropatkin  determined  to  retire  on  the 
night  of  August  31st." 


86  A  Staff  Officer-s  Scbap-Book 

away  eastwards  leaving  the  Mandarin  road  open  to  an 
advance  southwards  by  a  victorious  enemy  with  whom 
they  are  still  in  close  contact.  Instead  of  60,000  men 
then,  Kuroki  must  content  himself  with  20,000.  In 
common  with  Caesar's  Rubicon,  the  Taitsuho  of  Kuroki 
may  offer  no  insuperable  barrier  to  the  mere  movement 
of  the  troops,  but  once  they  set  foot  on  the  further  bank 
their  commander  commits  himself  to  play  for  the 
highest  stakes.  He  need  not  bum  his  pontoon  boats, 
for  the  enemy's  shell  will  do  that  for  him  fast  enough 
if  his  forces  prove  insufficient  to  maintain  their 
ground. 

It  seems  that  all  the  main  points  of  this  new  scheme, 
based  upon  Kuropatkin's  retreat,  were  settled  on 
the  30th,  and  the  Twelfth  Division  were  ordered  to 
cross  the  Taitsuho  at  Lentowan  that  same  night,  and 
then  to  move  northward  down  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  until  they  found  a  good  position  to  cover  the 
passage  of  Okasaki's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division. 
The  Twelfth  Division  have  carried  out  their  orders. 
Much  to  the  discredit  of  the  Cossacks,  they  were  per- 
mitted to  do  so  without  any  trouble  or  hitch.  But  the 
Headquarters  Staff  are  hardly  recovered  yet  from  the 
fright  they  got  during  the  night  when  the  large  force 
of  the  enemy  opposite  Shobyoshi  and  Sekishoshi,* 
amounting  to  more  than  a  Division,  were  reported, 
erroneously  as  it  turned  out,  to  be  threatening  a  for- 
ward movement.  We  know  that  in  ordinary  life 
actions  which  appear  small  and  trivial  in  themselves 
may  yet  have  the  most  far-reaching  effects.  In  war, 
however,  the  truth  of  the  principle  is  much  more 
immediately  recognisable. 

OnHhe  night  of  the  30th,  the  whole  of  the  Twelfth 

*  Chinese,  Shuangmiaotsu  and  Shihchutsu. 


vm^v 


MANJV  VAMA 
(flKCCAKf  HJLtJ. 


YCMTAI 
COALMtNC 


With  the  Guabds  Division  87 

Division  was  definitely  committed  to  the  crossing  of 
the  Taitsuho,  and  the  main  body  of  the  Second  Division 
had  concentrated  by  10  p.m.  at  Kosojo*  for  the 
purpose  of  following  the  Twelfth  Division  to  the 
Lentowan  ford  by  way  of  the  Henyu.  The  lines  of 
communications  of  both  these  Divisions  crossed  the 
Tangho  at  the  same  spot,  Amping.  Matsunaga's 
Brigade  was  twelve  miles  to  the  south-west,  assisting 
the  Guards  to  contain  another  of  the  enemy's  Divisions, 
and  the  Guards  themselves  were  still  further  away  in 
the  same  direction.  Absolutely  the  only  troops  avail- 
able to  make  face  to  the  enemy's  Division  on  the  heights 
beyond  Shobyoshi  and  Sekishoshi  were  four  Japanese 
companies — two  near  Sekishoshi  and  two  a  little  to 
the  north  of  Shobyoshi.  If  a  Bussian  brigade  had 
come  down  from  its  position  and  overwhelmed  these 
four  companies,  or  even  if  one  Russian  battalion  had 
marched  round  their  left  into  the  valley  of  the  Tangho, 
then  in  neither  case  was  there  anything  available  to 
defend  Amping  from  a  coup  de  main  but  masses  of  camp 
followers  and  supply  columns. 

Small  wonder,  then,  that  the  Headquarters  Staff  are 
in  no  mood  to  appreciate  the  recital  of  my  adventures, 
which  to  myself  had  appeared  so  interesting  and 
important. 

A  bold  stroke  at  Amping  by  the  heavy  force  of 
Russians,  from  whose  undefeated  front  the  Japanese 
had  begun  to  clear  as  soon  as  it  became  dark,  would 
have  cut  Kuroki's  forces  clean  in  two  and,  even  if 
eventually  repulsed,  would  have  probably  so  destroyed 
and  disorganised  his  transport  as  to  put  the  First 
Army  out  of  action  for  several  weeks  to  come. 

*  Chinese,  Kusaocheng. 


CHAPTER  XXin 


KUROKI  CROSSES  THE  TAITSUHO 

As  I  have  several  times  criticised  the  Japanese  for 
being  over  cautious,  it  is  only  feir  to  draw  attention 
to  the  enormous  risks  Kuroki  took  upon  himself  last 
night.  To  cross  a  river  in  fece  of  the  emeny  has  been 
considered  a  delicate  military  operation  since  the  days 
of  Germanicus,  but  when,  in  addition  to  the  dangers  of 
flood  and  fire  in  fifont,  a  powerful  force  of  the  enemy  is 
posted  in  a  strong  position  on  the  near  side  of  the 
river  within  five  miles  of  the  proposed  point  of  cross- 
ing, then  indeed  the  attempt  makes  heavy  demands 
upon  the  audacity  of  the  General. 

Kuroki  fully  realised  his  danger.  It  had  been 
intended  that  the  Second  Division  should  have 
attacked  and  carried  the  Russian  positions  on  the 
high  ground  immediately  south  and  south-west  of 
Sekishoshi  as  a  necessary  preliminary  to  the  passage 
of  the  river.  The  entrenchments,  however,  look  very 
formidable,  and  it  seems  certain  that  Europatkin  has 
given  the  order  to  retreat  which  will  imply  their  early 
evacuation.  It  has  been  decided,  therefore,  to  leave 
the  Russians  alone,  and,  relying  upon  their  presumed 
lack  of  initiative,  to  trust  four  companies  of  Japanese 
infantry  to  contain  them. 

Never  was  presumption  better  justified.  The 
Russian  Divisions  remained  immobUe.     The  Twelfth 


KuROKi  Crosses  the  Taitsuho  89 

Division  crossed  at  Lentowan  before  daybreak,  and 
advanced  northward  up  the  right  bank  as  soon  as  it 
was  light  to  cover  the  crossing  of  the  Second  Division. 
To-day  they  have  swung  round  westwards,  following 
the  river,  and  are  now  facing  the  Russians  •  at  Huan- 
kufon  with  their  left  resting  on  the  Taitsuho  and  their 
line  running  round  in  a  semicircle  to  cover  the 
Swallow's  Nest  Hill  (see  Map  XXII.).  Whflst  the 
Twelfth  Division  were  getting  into  position,  Okasaki's 
Brigade  began  at  9  a.m.  this  morning  to  ford  the 
river  near  Lentowan,  and  by  1  p.m.  they  had  all  got 
through  safely  to  the  right  bank.  The  Field  Artillery 
were  forced  to  wait  for  a  bridge  and  meanwhile  took 
up  a  position  to  assist  the  deployment  of  the  army  on 
the  northern  bank,  and,  if  necessary,  to  check  any 
aggressive  movement  from  the  west. 

I  could  learn  nothing  about  the  progress  of  the 
Second  and  Fourth  Armies,  but  I  was  told  that, 
whilst  I  had  been  away  from  headquarters,  orders  had 
been  sent  to  General  Umezawa  which  were  calculated 
to  bring  him  into  our  sphere  of  operations  before  very 
long.  He  had  been  at  Chaotao  in  command  of  a 
mixed  brigade  of  Kobi,  with  which  he  had  been 
watching  Penchiho,  where  a  smaU  force  of  Russians 
had  remained  after  the  retirement  of  the  bulk  of  their 
troops  on  Liaoyang.  Umezawa  has  now  been  directed 
to  attack  Penchiho  on  the  night  of  the  30th,  after 
which  he  is  to  march  westwards  and  join  hands  with 
Euroki  to  the  north  of  the  Taitsuho. 

The  situation,  then,  as  far  as  I  can  ascertain  it  before 
turning  in,  is  something  like  this :  Europatkin  is  said 
to  be  retreating  northwards  on  Mukden  as  fast  as  he 
can.  Nevertheless,  a  big  force  of  Russians  are  entrench- 
ing themselves  amongst  the  Euyentai  hills.      From 


90  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

their  position  some  five  miles  to  our  west,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  they  have  been  firing  heavily  but  very 
wildly,  much  of  the  shrapnel  bursting  high  or  wide  of 
the  mark.  On  our  left,  the  Imperial  Guards  have 
gained  a  little  ground  in  the  direction  of  Mokabo,  but 
at  Bohodai  on  their  right  they  and  Matsunaga's  Brigade 
of  the  Second  Division  are  still  sitting  down  opposite 
the  position  they  were  driven  from  on  the  30th.  The 
29th  Regiment  of  Kobi,  however,  Kuroki's  reserve  on 
the  26th,  which  he  had  sent  from  Lienshankuan  to  help 
the  Guards  in  their  difficulties,  has  now  been  recalled 
and  is  to  join  the  Second  Division  as  soon  as  possible 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  Taitsuho.  Under  Kuroki's 
direct  orders,  Okasaki's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division 
and  the  whole  of  the  Twelfth  Division  have  taken  up  a 
position  near  Huankufun. 

Kankuantun,*  September  1st,  1904. — For  the 
seventh  morning  in  succession  earth  and  air  are  tremb- 
ling to  the  thunder  of  guns  firing  at  all  distances  and 

in  every  direction.    tells  me  that  a  pontoon  bridge 

has  been  built  diuing  the  night,  and  that  we  are  to 
follow  Kuroki  across  it. 

We  started  at  7  A.M.,  and  after  marching  a  short 
distance  our  road  divided,  one  track  leading  to  the  left^ 
apparently  to  the  river,  the  other  going  half-right.     I 

felt  sure  we  should  take  the  road  to  the  lefb,  but 

was  even  more  positive  we  should  go  to  the  right.  We 
did  so,  and  after  riding  two  or  three  miles  we  came  to 
the  high  ground  overlooking  Lentowan,  where  there 
was  no  bridge !  I  could  not  resist  saying,  "  I  told  you 
so" — a  phrase  which,  agreeable  as  it  may  be  in  the 

*  Chinese,  Houkwantun.  At  this  time,  although  I  did  not 
know  it,  Umezawa  on  the  extreme  right  had  captured  Penchiho 
{Me  Map  XXIII.).— I.  H. 


KuBOKi  Cbossbs  the  Taitsuho  91 

utterance,  is  never  quite  worth  the  eventual  cost ;  and 
so  there  developed  a  marked  coldness.  I  did  not,  how- 
ever, so  much  regret  the  loss  of  time,  as  we  happened 
to  arrive  just  as  a  company  of  Japanese  infantry  was 
crossing  the  ford.  The  water  came  up  to  their  arm- 
pits, and  it  seemed  to  me  that  they  must  be  firmer  on 
their  feet  than  Europeans,  not  to  be  carried  away  by 
the  current.  Rough,  broken  hills  came  down  to  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  ford.  I  presume  they  were  picqueted 
by  Japanese  troops,  but  they  look  to  me  as  if  they  had 
been  expressly  made  by  Providence  to  facilitate  a  pro- 
tracted opposition  to  the  crossing  by  such  troops  as 
the  Cossacks  have  until  now  been  supposed  to  be. 

Retracing  our  steps  to  the  parting  of  the  ways,  we 
now  took  my  road,  and  arrived  afler  a  few  hundred 
yards,  at  a  very  fine  pontoon  bridge,  which  took 
only  one  and  a  half  hours  to  construct.  We  crossed, 
and  then,  turning  west,  scaled  a  tumulus-shaped 
hill  of  about  150  feet  in  height,  crowned  by  the 
half-ruined  battlements  of  a  Chinese  fort,  called  the 
Swallow's  Nest. 

It  was  now  almost  noon.  Euroki  and  his  Staff  were 
here,  but,  with  very  mixed  feelings,  I  saw  that  the 
military  attaches  with  the  Second  Division  and  half  a 
dozen  of  my  friends,  the  journalists,  were  also  on  the 
ground. 

The  first  to  greet  me  was  Vincent.  I  have  rarely 
seen  any  one  so  disreputable.  He  had  slept  in  a  muddy 
puddle  by  the  roadside,  and,  to  judge  by  what  he'  had 
carried  away  with  him  on  his  clothes,  he  must  have 
left  it  as  clear  as  crystal.  He  looked  very  pinched  and 
thin,  and  the  seat  of  his  breeches  had  been  repaired  with 
a  large  piece  of  a  Russian  greatcoat. 

He  knew  nothing  of  the  general  situation — nothing 


92  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

whatever ;  but  he  had  collected  a  lot  of  valuable  notes 
concerning  the  advance  of  his  own  Division. 

A  few  minutes  later,  I  passed  him  again.  I  could 
not  imagine  how  his  whole  appearance  seemed  to  have 
been  transformed  into  one  of  radiant  beatitude  until  I 
saw  in  his  hand  a  tin  which  reminded  me  of  happier 
days.  I  said,  "  Good  heavens,  Vincent,  what  is  that  ?" 
He  said,  "  It  is  an  empty  tin  of  raspberry  jam  Max- 
well of  the  Standa/rd  has  just  given  me/'  I  exclaimed, 
"  Did  Maxwell  give  you  an  empty  tin  of  jam  ?  "  *'  Oh, 
no,"  he  replied,  "I  mean  it  is  now  empty."  And  so  it  was; 
not  even  a  stickiness  dulled  the  polished  bottom  of  the 
tin,  which,  as  I  told  Vincent  with  some  bitterness,  was 
certainly  by  far  the  cleanest  thing  he  had  about 
him.. 

After  all,  the  stream  of  information  did  continue  to 
flow  without  apparent  interruption. 

The  first  item  was  good,  namely,  that  Umezawa's 
Brigade  had  duly  captured  Penchiho  on  the  extreme 
right  of  the  army.  The  next  concerned  the  positions 
of  the  enemy,  with  whom  we  were  in  contact  on  the 
northern  back  of  the  Taitsuho,  and  certainly  we  could 
not  have  wished  for  a  finer  view  of  these  positions  than 
we  got  from  our  Swallow's  Nest  {see  Sketch  XXI.). 

Immediately  to  the  south,  at  our  very  feet,  the  broad 
and  rapid  Taitsuho  ran  due  west  for  some  three  miles, 
when  it  turned  northwards  and,  making  a  complete 
semi-circle  the  arc  of  which  would  measure  about  two 
miles,  flowed  away  to  the  south  out  of  our  sphere 
of  action.  Where  the  river  takes  its  turn  to  the 
south,  it  washes  the  steep  lower  slope  of  a  mountain 
marked  on  the  Russian  map  131.  This  131  is  ob- 
viously an  ugly  fellow  to  tackle ;  and  on  his  southern 
spur  are  guns,   and  the  crest  lines  are  entrenched 


mmm 


KuBOKi  Cbosses  the  Taitsuho  93 

in  several  places,  though  not,  apparently,  very 
heavily.  From  131  a  long,  low  feature  runs  out 
northwards,  and  ends  in  a  flattened  hillock  perhaps 
fifty  feet  high,  which  the  soldiers  have  christened 
Manjuyama,  or  Bice  cake  Hill.  Just  beneath  the 
slight  col  which  connects  mountain  131  with  Manju- 
yama, nestles  amidst  its  orchards  a  fairly  large  village 
called  Hsikuantun.  Beyond  Manjuyama  the  ground 
is  fairly  level  until,  some  two  and  a  half  miles  to  the 
north-east  of  it,  a  curious  five-headed  hill  about  200 
feet  high — Gochosan  by  name — rises  up  out  of  the 
luxuriant  crops.  North  of  Gochosan  a  long  ridge  con- 
tinues for  about  four  miles,  ending  in  a  round  hill  with 
a  small  house  on  the  top  of  it  which  we  were  told  over- 
looked the  Yentai  coal  mines.  The  whole  plain  is  a 
mass  of  high  kaoliung  crops. 

It  is  desperately  tedious  to  write  so  much  descrip- 
tion, but  I  shall  never  succeed  in  my  report  unless*  I 
get  the  lie  of  the  country  firmly  fixed  in  my  own  mind, 
and  the  only  way  of  doing  so  is  either  to  live  here  for 
a  week  or  to  put  it  all  down  direct  fi:om  nature. 

To  gain  a  general  idea  of  the  scene,  it  must  be  noted 
that  at  the  Swallow's  Nest  Hill  we  had  just  emerged 
for  the  first  tune  for  four  months  from  endless  ranges 
of  mountains.  Looking  north,  south,  east  or  south- 
west the  fitmiliar  spiky  pyramids  still  stood  with  stately 
ranks  unbroken,  but,  apart  from  the  outposts  formed 
by  Mountain  131,  Manjuyama  and  Gochosan,  the 
whole  country  to  the  west  was  an  undulating  and 
apparently  open  plain.  I  say  "  apparently  open," 
because,  actually,  the  kaoliung  crops,  from  eight  to 
twelve  feet  high,  gave  it  all  the  tactical  characteristics 
of  dense  forest. 

The  Bussians,  in  force  unknown,  were  holding  a 


94  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

semicircular  position  with  their  right  on  Mountain 
131,  and  their  line  running  north-eastwards  thence  by 
Hsikuantun,  Manjuyama,  Gochosan.  Our  own  First 
Army — ^as  many  of  them,  that  is  to  say,  as  had  crossed 
the  river — were  spread  out  beneath  us  like  a  fan. 
Okasaki's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  was  on  the 
left,  and  had  been  endeavouring  to  work  up  to  131 
and  Hsikuantun  since  6  A.M. ;  the  Twelfth  Division 
was  on  the  right  and  had  already  at  the  time  of 
my  arrival  made  good  its  footing  on  the  Gochosan 
hiU. 

Twenty.four  Japanese  guns  had  come  into  action  at 
6.30  A.  M.  from  entrenchments  dug  durmg  the  night  on 
alow  ridge  running  north  and  south  some  500  yards  to 
the  east  of  Huankufen  (see  Sketch  XXI.).  There  were 
hundreds  of  Eussian  shrapnel  bursting  in  rafcUes  of 
eight  over  and  beyond  these  guns.  .  The  enemy's  bat- 
teries had  ranged  on  another  ridge  about  400  yards 
beyond  their  real  objective.  Some  trees  grew  upon 
the  further  ridge,  and  no  doubt  helped  the  common 
optical  delusion  whereby  from  a  distance  two  features 
merge  into  one,  and  the  intervening  valley  escapes 
notice. 

All  gunners  are  aware  of  their  liability  to  go 
wrong  from  this  cause,  but  the  Kussian  practice  of 
ranging  in  the  air  with  time  shrapnel  instead  of 
on  the  ground  by  percussion  shrapnel,  undoubtedly 
gives  greater  scope  for  such  mistakes.  Anyway, 
the  Eussian  rafales^  so  savage  in  their  seeming, 
were  no  more  dangerous  to  the  artillery  against  which 
they  were  directed  than  a  Crystal  Palace  fireworks 
display. 

General  Kuroki  himself  told  me  that  at  9  A.M.  he  had 
received  a  message  from  Oyama's  Chief  of  the  Staff — 


o^ 

ULfflNf 

J  RVASIAH 

^t  C.t%.    HO^trXBM 

eNr>t.A&e»    MAMJ 

SePTcZ-j" 

FPP^" 


KuROKi  Ckossbs  the  Taitsuho  95 

Kodama — ^telling  him  that,  since  the  31st,  the  enemy 
had  been  retiring  in  front  of  the  Fourth  Army,  who 
had,  at  daybreak   to-day,  captured   Hsinlitun  (Map 

xxin.). 

Simultaneously,  the  Second  Army  had  occupied  an 
important  hill  west  of  Hsinlitun  with  its  right  column, 
whilst  the  next  Division  still  further  to  the  west  had 
carried  Shuisenpu  after  losing  very  heavily.  It  seems 
clear,  therefore,  to  Kuroki  that  the  Second  and  Fourth 
Armies  have  made  a  most  important  advance,  and  he 
concludes  that  they  must  by  now  be  in  hot  pursuit  of 
the  enemy.  He  is  further  confirmed  in  his  view  by  a 
message  which  came  in  at  mid-day  telling  him  that  the 
Guards  had  occupied  the  range  north  of  Mokabo  at 

11  A*M. 

Kuroki  is  radiant.  The  great  moment  of  his  life 
has  arrived.  He  has  only  to  burst  through  at  Manju- 
yama  and  Mountain  131  to  fix  himself  astride  the 
railway  to  Mukden,  which  can  be  clearly  seen,  looking 
westwards  over  the  village  of  Hsikuantun^  bearing  its 
busy  trains  northward.  Several  of  the  Staff  have  re- 
minded me,  as  if  I  needed  reminding,  that  to-day  is  the 
anniversary  of  Sedan.  How  strange  if  history  should 
repeat  itself  I  The  hopes  of  the  Japanese  run  high, 
and  anything  seems  possible.  I  have  sent  the  follow- 
ing cable :  "  First  September.  Since  previous  telegram 
six  days  nights  incessant  hard  fighting,  marching,  en- 
trenching. Troops  sleepless  last  three  nights,  but 
Kuroki  giving  enemy  no  respite  and  by  crossing 
Taitsuho  fair  prospects  securing  fullest  results  great 
victory." 

Faithfully  as  I  believe  my  cables  have  reflected  the 
spirit  prevailing  at  the  moment  amongst  our  allies, 
there  is  some  bad  luck  about  them  from  the  Japanese 


96  A  Staff  Officbe's  Sckap-Book 

point  of  view,  and  certainly  there  seems  danger  that 
they  will  bring  bad  luck  to  me. 

At  1.50  a  message  came  in,  couched  in  somewhat 
alarming  terms,  to  say  that  a  Russian  column  two 
miles  long  was  moving  down  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Yentai  coal  mines,  and  threatening  to  roll  up  the 
right  of  the  army. 

Such  information  does  not  tally  with  the  view  that 
the  Russians  are  in  full  flight,  and  I  note  a  great  change 
in  the  mood  of  all  my  friends.  Lieut.-General  Inouye, 
commanding  the  Twelfth  Division,  advises  Kuroki  to 
suspend  his  advance  westwards  until  measures  can  be 
taken  to  probe  the  full  significance  of  this  threatening 
movement  from  the  north. 

Okasaki,  however,  had  committed  his  Fifteenth  Bri- 
gade too  far  to  the  attack  of  Manjuyama  to  be  able 
either  to  stand  fast  or  withdraw.  So,  at  least,  he  chose 
to  put  it.  He  therefore  informed  Headquarters  that  he 
had  aaked  the  officer  commanding  th^  Second  Division 
artillery  to  support  him,  and  that  he  had  also  begged 
General  Inouye  to  permit  the  mountain  guns  of  the 
Twelfth  Division  to  fire  at  Manjuyama.  The  request 
for  the  assistance  of  the  Mountain  Artillery  was 
granted,  but  the  officer  commanding  Second  Division 
said  that  if  he  was  to  shell  Manjuyama  he  must  move 
up  1000  yards  nearer  the  hill,  a  very  difficult  business, 
even  with  the  kaoliung  to  conceal  his  movements,  and 
necessitating  the  digging  of  fresh  gun-pits  in  advance, 
which  must  take  time. 

To  a  British  soldier  it  is  most  interesting  to  note 
that,  although  his  own  Divisional  Commander, 
Lieutenant-GenersJ  Nishi,  was  somewhere  on  the  field, 
Okasaki  did  not  hesitate  to  send  direct  to  the  officer 
commanding.  Second  Division  artillery,  who  was  not 


KuBOKi  Crosses  the  Taitsuho  97 

under  his  orders,  to  ask  him  to  carry  out  a  vital, 
although  dangerous,  movement;  also  to  mark,  learn,  and 
inwardly  digest  the  fact  that  the  artillery  commander 
never  dreamed  for  a  moment  of  standing  off  on  any 
mere  point  of  punctilio. 

When  British  merchants  find  their  conunercial 
supremacy  threatened  by  the  Germans,  they  appear 
very  often  to  think  that  it  is  their  Government  or 
their  workmen  which  are  to  blame ;  so,  at  least,  I 
iudge  by  what  I  have  often  seen  written.  It  may  be 
so.  But  it  would  be  a  bad  sign  for  our  army  if  we 
hesitated  fireely  to  acknowledge  that  in  the  ethics  of 
militarism  we  have  an  inunense  amount  to  learn  from 
the  Germans.  Okasaki's  confident  appeal  to  the 
officer  commanding  the  Second  Division  artUlery ; 
the  generosity  of  Nishi  and  the  willingness  with  which 
the  sniuB  advanced,  all  this  is  pure  evidence  of  German 
tea^Sg  grafted  inio  Samarai'»»«lffehne«.  Gennan 
formations  may  be  too  close,  according  to  some  opinions; 
their  trust  in  the  sabre  and  the  lance  may  be  vieiLX  jeu 
according  to  the  views  of  a  few  conscientious  critics ; 
but  no  one  who  studied  1870  and  recognised  the 
loyalty  with  which  German  generals  supported  each 
other ;  who  has  considered  how  ungrudgingly  assist- 
ance was  rendered,  whether  asked  for  or  not,  irrespective 
of  the  corps  or  even  of  the  army  to  which  such  units 
belonged,  can  doubt  that  in  these  respects  we  stand 
far  behind  the  Germans  of  thirty-four  years  ago.  If 
any  one  does  doubt  it,  let  him  study  some  of  our  South 
African  battles  care&lly,  and  then  read  the  story  of 
Spicheren  and  Worth. 

From  all  I  can  gather,  it  is  clear  that  Okasaki  is  the 
leading  spirit  of  the  attack  now  in  progress  and,  gene- 
rally, in  the  decision  to  maintain  the  offensive  on  the 
n  G 


98  A  Staff  Officbb's  Sorap-Book 

lefty  threaten  what  may  on  the  right.  I  think  Euroki, 
Inouye,  and  Fujii  would  all  prefer  to  refuse  their  right 
and  centre  imtil  the  situation  on  the  right  flank  has 
been  cleared  up^  but  the  bold  commander  of  the  15th 
Brigade  sees  only  the  enemy  interposing  between  him 
and  the  railway,  and  has  flung  to  the  winds  their  pru- 
dence as  well  as  his  own.  Feeling  themselves  more 
or  less  committed  by  the  calculated  Nelsonian  impetu- 
osity of  Okasaki,  Kuroki  and  his  Stafi  have  accepted 
the  challenge  of  fortune,  and  are  doing  all  they 
possibly  can  to  ensure  him  success.  The  Shimamura 
Brigade  (12th)  of  the  Twelfth  Division  has  been 
promptly  ordered  to  wheel  northwards,  and  has  taken 
up  a  position  about  Gochosan  to  meet  the  two-mile 
Russian  colinnn  coming  from  Yentai.  Under  cover  of 
this  flank  guard,  the  Kigoshi  Brigade  of  the  Twelfth 
Division  has  closed  in  towards  the  15th  Brigade  to 
support  Okasaki's  attack,  and  all  available  guns  have 
received  orders  to  lessen  their  distance  from  Man- 
juyama  so  as  to  shell  it  at  efiective  ranges. 

By  4.30  P.M.  the  Japanese  guns  were  fiu*iously 
pounding  this  hillock.  The  slight  entrenchments  were 
not  deep  enough  or  solid  enough  to  stand  such 
treatment,  and  as  the  clouds  of  black  smoke  from 
high  explosive  shell  mingled  with  the  snowy  pufis  of 
the  shrapnel  and  settled  more  and  more  closely  over 
Maujuyama's  brow,  I  saw  many  of  the  defenders 
evacuate  their  shelters  and  rim  desperately  back  in 
hopes,  often  &lsified,  of  escaping  with  their  lives  over 
to  the  far  side  of  the  crest. 

At  5.80  the  opinion  was  freely  expressed  on  the 
Swallow's  Nest  hill  that  the  Bussians  would  be  forced 
by  such  a  fire  to  evacuate  Manjuyama  completely. 
But  not  a  bit  of  it;   at  6.30  they  were  reinforced, 


EXTBOKI  CbOSSES  THE  TaITSUHO  99 

and  at  7  p.m.  word  came  back  to  say  that  in  face  of 
the  cross  fire  of  the  Russian  artillery  from  positions 
north-west,  west  and  south  of  Manjuyama,  there 
seemed  small  prospect  that  the  Fifteenth  Brigade 
would  be  able  to  work  up  to  within  assaulting  distance 
in  daylight.  From  two  or  three  officers  I  heard 
the  half-anxious,  half-indignant  remark,  '^  the  Guards 
should  be  here  with  us;  we  ought  never  to  have 
crossed  without  the  Guards."  The  situation  is  now 
no  longer  viewed  through  rose-coloured  spectacles,  but 
still  Euroki  is  full  of  good  hope  of  breaking  through 
to-night,  and  all  that  can  be  done  is  being  done  with 
that  end  in  view.  Urgent  orders  have  been  despatched 
to  Umezawa  to  move  on  Yentai  so  soon  as  he  has 
captured  Penchiho''^ ;  Matsunaga  has  been  directed  to 
leave  the  Guards  and  to  complete  the  Second  Division 
by  bringing  his  Third  Brigade  to  join  Okasaki's 
Fifteenth  Brigade ;  even  the  two  companies  of  the 
Second  Division  who  had  been  left  at  Shobyoshi  have 
been  hurriedly  summoned  up  firom  the  south  bank 
of  the  river. 

As  the  sup  sank  below  Manjuyama  crest,  sending 
out  strange  red  streamers  of  light  into  the  northern 
sky,  the  volume  of  the  musketry  increased  until  it 
surpassed  in  its  violence  anything  I  have  ever  heard. 
The  artillerymen  on  either  side  worked  for  their 
lives  round  their  bellowing  guns  and  sent  continuous 
streams  of  shells  shrieking  through  the  deepening 
gloom.  In  the  fading  light  every  flash  of  gun  or 
bursting  shrapnel  showed  up  against  the  dull  red 
background  of  the  sunset  like  those  vivid  sparks 
which  coruscate  here  and  there  on  the  surface  of 
a  sheet  of  molten  metal  as  it  cools.    But  the  night 

*  By  this  time  it  was  already  captured. 


100  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

came  on  apace  and  then  all  became  still  and  very 
dark. 

10.30  P.M. — I  returned  to  Kankuantun  at  9,  but 
have  been  on  the  roof  of  my  house  for  the  last  half- 
hour.  For  at  about  a  quarter  to  ten,  just  as  the  moon 
rose^  the  firing  broke  out  again  on  Manjuyama  even 
more  furiously  than  at  sunset.  The  mountains  and 
the  river  banks  and  the  houses  re-echo  to  the  con- 
tinuous, angry,  growling  sound  of  the  musketry. 
The  most  bitter  fight  is  illuminating  the  slopes  of  the 
hillock,  and  I  could  see  its  shape  outlined  by  innumer- 
able little  dazzling  specks,  showing  the  thousands  of 
rounds  which  were  being  fired.  Himdreds  of  human 
souls  are  passing  away  yonder  where  the  hill-side 
flashes  flame.  I  feel  very  much  afraid,  and  wish  I 
had  some  one  by  me  to  hold  me  by  the  hand. 

1  A.M. — The  noise  of  the  battle  murders  sleep.  The 
flashes  of  the  rifles  are  now  like  those  sparks  which 
break  in  clusters  from  the  dark  cylinder  of  a  dynamo, 
and  on  the  night  wind,  mingling  with  the  interminable 
fusillade,  comes  an  occasional  low,  tremulous,  very 
human  sound — it  must  be — it  can  only  be — ^the  shout  of 
those  that  triiunph  blended  by  kindly  distance  with 
the  heavy  groans  of  the  fallen.  How  can  I  sleep  when 
less  than  three  miles  distant  men  with  rage  and  death 
in  their  hearts,  with  haggard  eyes  and  trembling 
hands,  are  struggling  for  the  mastery  with  fire  and 
steel  ?  I  am  deeply  depressed  by  the  events  of  to-day, 
which  disclose  a  half-hearted,  dangerous  plan  of 
operations.  If  we  fail  to-night  at  Manjuyama,  we 
may  be  pushed  into  the  river  to-morrow,  or  driven 
off  our  communications  on  to  Penchiho.  It  seems  to 
me  that  Kuropatkin  can  keep  Oyama  in  play  as  long 
as  he  likes,  first  with  his  fortifications,  secondly  with 


KuBOKi  Ceosses  the  Taitsuho  101 

the  Taitsuho ;  long  enough  anyway  to  swallow  us  up 
completely.  To  do  the  big  thing  we  are  here  aiming 
at  we  need  every  man  of  our  army,  and  at  the  very 
least  a  full  Division  of  the  Fourth  Army.  What  mad- 
ness induced  me  to  send  that  sanguine  cable  this 
morning  before  realising  how  much  of  our  force  we 
were  leaving  on  the  south  of  the  river  ?  * 

*  I  am  tempted  to  cut  out  this  faint-hearted  reaction  from  my 
previous  over-oonfidence,  but  as  I  am  dealing  with  my  impreseions 
just  as  they  arose  I  feel  I  have  no  right  to  suppress  my  mistakes. — 
I.  H. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

MANJUTAMA 

Kankuantun,  September  2nd,  1904. — ^Rose  finally  at 
4  A.M.,  after  a  sleepless  night,  and,  crossing  by  the 
pontoon,  again  climbed  the  Swallow's  Nest  hill.  No 
one  had  arrived  there  yet  except  one,  a  junior  oflficer 
of  the  General  Staff,  and  he  told  me  the  Headquarters 
had  passed  a  bad  night,  but  that  Okasaki  has  captured 
the  hill  all  right,  although  he  has  suffered  great  losses. 
The  grisly  phantoms  of  last  night  have  vanished  in 
the  cool  grey  light  of  morning — thank  God  ! 

It  seems  that  so  long  as  yesterday's  daylight  lasted 
an  assault  had  been  impracticable.  Before  storming 
such  a  hillock  as  Manjuyama,  exposed  to  the  enemy's 
gun  fire  firom  three  directions,  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
sider, not  only  the  primary  cost  of  the  assault  but  also 
the  position  of  the  stormers  if  successful  Exposed  to 
such  a  terrific  shell  storm  as  it  would  have  been  in  the 
power  of  the  enemy  to  concentrate  upon  them,  they 
must  have  been  blown  to  bits  long  before  they  could 
dig  themselves  into  comparative  safety.  We  were 
mistaken,  then,  yesterday  evening  in  thinking  that 
the  intensity  of  the  musketry  meant  that  Okasaki  was 
seriously  trying  to  effect  a  lodgment  on  Manjuyama. 

As  soon,  however,  as  the  crepuscule  had  deepened 
into  the  profound  obscurity  which  last  night  preceded 


Manjuyama  103 

the  rising  of  the  moon,  he  advanced  his  brigade  through 
the  kaoliung  to  within  rushing  distance. 

Each  battalion  moved  with  one  company  in  line, 
leading,  followed  at  close  interval  by  the  other  three 
companies  in  section  colimms  at  deploying  intervals. 
The  direction  was  kept  by  the  compasses  of  the  officers. 
The  signal  for  the  onslaught  was  to  be  the  rising  of 
the  moon. 

It  was  nearly  10  o'clock  when  the  first  pale  moon- 
beams stole  across  the  battlefield,  and  no  sooner  did 
Manjuyama's  ridge  emerge  ghost-like  at  that  summons 
from  the  darkness  than  the  30th  Begiment  under  the 
brave  old  Colonel  Baba  charged  into  its  northern  face 
with  a  tremendous  Banzai  yell.  They  made  good  their 
footing,  and  then  came  the  turn  of  the  16th  Begiment, 
which  also  dashed  in  fiercely,  and  effected  a  lodgment 
on  the  hillock's  southern  slope&  But  the  Bussians 
here  were  stout  fellows,  although  not  very  numerous 
or  strongly  entrenched,  and  those  holding  the  central 
part  of  the  position  were  not  at  all  inclined  to  say 
Amen  to  a  Japanese  Banzai  Till  midnight,  con- 
fused and  passionate  fighting  took  place  backward 
and  forward  over  the  shell  scarred  features  of  this 
little  Bice-cake  hill,  about  which  hour  the  last  handful 
of  the  Bussians  holding  on  round  a  small  tumulus  on 
the  summit  were  fairly  forced  back  into  the  surround- 
ing sea  of  kaoliung. 

Hardly  had  the  Japanese  realised  that  they  were 
masters  of  the  position,  when  two  of  the  enemy's 
battalions  made  a  determined  counter-attack  against 
the  right  flank  of  the  30th  Begiment.  Had  these 
two  battalions  come  as  a  reinforcement  a  few  minutes 
earlier,  whilst  their  own  men  were  still  maintaining 
their  grip  of  the  summit,  the  results  of  the  night's 


104  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

fighting  might  have  been  different.  Ab  it  was,  the 
counter-attack  was  repulsed  after  half  an  hour's  fight- 
ing, leaving  a  lieutenant-colonel  and  many  others  dead 
behind  on  the  ground. 

The  great  danger,  the  advance  of  the  Bussians  from 
the  Yentai  coal  mines  against  the  unsupported 
Shimamura  Brigade  covering  the  right  flank  of  the 
assailants  of  Manjuyama  on  the  Grochosan  hills,  has 
never  come  to  a  head.  The  enemy  in  this  quarter  have 
shown  no  determination.  They  had  opened  fire  at 
long  range,  first  with  a  couple  of  field-guns,  and  after- 
wards with  a  battery ;  they  had  done  a  little  long- 
range  infantry  skirmishing,  and  that  was  all. 

Umezawa  had  found  it  necessary  to  advance  north  - 
wards  beyond  Penchiho  towards  Pingtaitsu  (Map 
XXIII.),  so  as  to  drive  off  the  enemy  completely, 
before  obeymg  his  orders,  and  turning  westwards. 

Matsunaga's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  is  on  its 
way  back  from  coK>perating  with  the  Guards,  and 
should  arrive  here  before  mid-day.  The  Twenty-ninth 
Kobi  has  actually  arrived,  and  has  alrectdy  joined 
Okasaki. 

Such  was  the  situation  as  explained  to  me  early  in 
the  morning.  On  account  of  the  kaoliung,  I  could  see 
no  infantry  except  the  Russians  on  131  and  Japanese 
on  Manjuyama  and  Gochosan.  The  muffled,  booming 
sound  of  a  heavy  cannonade  came  faintly  to  our  ears 
over  Mountains  131  and  151,  which  interpose  between 
the  Swallow's  Nest  on  which  we  stand  and  Liaoyang, 
where  soon  we  hope  to  stand  {see  Sketch  XXI.). 

Kuroki  and  his  Staff  turned  up  about  7  a.m.  They 
seemed  in  good  spirits.  Kuroki  admits  he  could  not 
close  his  ears  to  the  fusillade  about  Manjuyama,  but, 
when  it  ceased,   he   says  he  felt  so  confident  of  a 


Manjuyama  105 

Japanese  victory  that  he  was  able  to  sleep  soundly  till 
sunrise. 

News  has  come  to  hand  from  the  Second  Army  to 
the  effect  that  they  intend  to  push  on  to-day  to  the 
south  bank  of  the  Taitsuho.  The  Guards  also  report 
that  the  Fourth  Army  has  made  such  progress  as  to 
relieve  them  of  any  fear  lest  the  Russians  still  facing 
them  should  take  the  initiative. 

Under  these  circumstances,  General  Kuroki  feels 
bound  to  redouble  his  efforts  so  as  at  least  to  keep  pace 
with  the  progress  of  the  other  armies.  He  has  there- 
fore ordered  the  Guards  to  march  northwards,  cross  the 
river  near  Kaochintsi  and  attack  Mountain  151,  which 
lies  immediately  south-west  of  Mountain  131,  and  is 
similarly  covered  from  assault  by  the  Taitsuho  flowing 
along  its  steeply  scarped  southern  slopes.  All  is  pos- 
sible if  the  Russians  are  on  the  point  of  retiring,  and  if 
Okasaki,  as  Kuroki  mentions  in  the  same  order,  is  at 
once  going  to  take  Mountain  131 ;  otherwise,  the  task 
seems  impossible — unless,  indeed,  the  Guards,  like 
ducks,  can  first  swim  the  river  and  then  fly  up  the 
precipitous  face  of  the  mountain. 

Just  at  this  time,  namely,  8  a.m.,  I  saw  the  first  step 
beine  taken  by  Okasaki  to  capture  131.  Several  com- 
panil  of  his  infantry*  worked  up  apparently  from 
Hsikuantun  village,  and  effected  a  lodgment  a  little 
way  up  on  the  northern  spur  of  the  mountain.  This 
feature  does  not  run  up  in  one  continuous  slope  to  the 
sununit,  but  is  broken  into  three  successive  waves  or 
knolls.  At  present  the  Japanese  are  clinging  very 
closely  to  the  lower  of  these  under  features. 

It  was  whilst  I  was  watching  this  plucky  detachment 
that  the  Russian  guns  began  a  feu  d'enfer  against 

*  Three  companies  Ist  Battalion  4th  Begiment. 


106  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Manjuyama.  From  north,  south,  and  west  they 
rained  shells  on  Okasaki  and  his  men,  who  could  only 
lie  low  and  send  up  to  us  a  melancholy  message  saying 
that  an  advance  beyond  Manjuyama  was  impossible 
owing  to  the  strength  of  the  enemy  about  Heyentai 
and  Safutun,  and  that  it  was  becoming  very  necessary 
to  do  something  against  theRussian  artillery.  Certainly 
this  is  so;  but  even  the  batteries  which  had  again 
advanced  during  the  night  to  the  north-west  of  Huan- 
kufun  cannot  locate  the  enemy's  guns,  which  are  firing 
indirect,  probably  from  behind  kaoliung  crops.  More- 
over, as  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kurita  said  to  me  the  other 
day,  every  shot  fired  from  a  Japanese  gun  takes  a  day 
off  his  life,  and  although  our  friends  are  none  of  them 
likely  to  tell  me  so,  I  strongly  suspect  that  after  all 
the  shooting  of  the  past  seven  days  they  have  not  any 
superabundance  of  shot  in  their  lockers. 

Meanwhile,  the  General  Staff  are  delighted  that  a 
commencement  has  been  made  in  the  taking  of  131,  and 
have  sent  (at  9  a.m.)  these  orders  to  the  commanders 
of  the  Second  and  Twelfth  Divisions. 

(1)  The  main  force  of  the  enemy  is  retreating 
towards  Mukden.  The  Umezawa  brigade^  is  advancing 
on  the  coal  mines,  and  the  Imperial  Guards  on  151. 

(2)  The  First  Army  is  to  pmsue  the  enemy  with  its 
main  force. 

(S)  The  Twelfth  Division  will  pursue  towards  San- 
doha.t  The  Second  Division,  after  taking  131,  will 
advance  towards  Lotatai. 

Kiuroki's  confidence  is  certainly  magnificent.  Mat- 
sunaga's  brigade  has  now  (9.30  A.M.)  crossed  and 
marched  on  to  assist  Okasaki,  but  the  men  are  dead-beat 

•  From  Penchibo. 

t  Chinese,  Santaopa  {aee  Map  XXXV.), 


SI 


sc 


=    ! 

e     i 


.( 


Makjuyama  107 

and  will  not  be  able  to  do  much  for  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours.  To  judge  by  the  firing,  there  is  hard 
fighting  going  on  between  the  Shimamura  brigade 
and  the  Russians  north  of  Grochosan,  and  Kiu*oki  and 
his  Staff  look  in  this  direction  much  longer  and  more 
earnestly  than  they  do  at  the  shelling  of  Manjuyama 
or  at  the  Japanese  companies  clinging  to  the  spur  on 
131,  so  I  daresay  our  fate  is  being  decided  even  now 
as  I  write.  One  thing  is  of  good  augury ;  as  the  morn- 
ing wears  on  the  sound  of  the  firing  to  the  north 
comes  more  and  more  faintly  to  our  ears. 

5  P.M. — ^Welcome  news  has  come  in  from  Shimamura 
showing  that  the  menacing  Kussian  column  from  the 
north  has  been  swept  away  by  the  Twelfth  Brigade, 
Twelfth  Division,  with  unexpected  ease.  It  seems 
that  the  five  hills  of  Gochosan  are  separated  by  about 
a  mile  of  low  country,  full  of  ravines  and  covered  with 
crops,  firom  a  long  bare  plateau  about  100  feet  high, 
half  a  mile  broad,  and  three  and  a  half  miles  long, 
which  stretches  northwards  as  far  as  the  Yentai  coal 
mines.  Super- imposed  upon  this  plateau  are  two  or 
three  groups  of  round  bare  hills  about  100  feet  high, 
and  standing,  therefore,  full  200  feet  above  the  sea  of 
kaoliung  which  wraps  the  whole  face  of  the  plain  in 
its  mantle  of  invisibility. 

In  the  early  morning,  the  Russian  column  two  miles 
long  (which  has  developed,  according  to  the  prisoners' 
reports,  into  a  brigade  of  infantry  and  a  considerable 
force  of  Cossacks  under  General  Orloff)  began  to  move 
off  the  Yentai  plateau  against  Gochosan.  They  took 
no  precaution  to  cover  their  advance  by  reconnaissance 
or  scouting  parties,  and  permitted  the  head  of  the 
column  to  be  caught  in  close  order  amongst  the  low 
broken  ridges  and  ravines  near  the  village  of  Taiyo 


108  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

and  between  the  two  ranges  of  hills.  Here  the 
Russians  were  defeated  and  were  rolled  back  in  great 
confusion,  part  of  them  to  the  west  and  part  back- 
wards on  to  the  colliery  plateau.  Later  on,  in  some 
way  not  yet  understood,  Shimamura  again  got  round 
them,  probably  by  taking  advantage  of  the  kaoh'ung, 
and  drove  them  clean  off  the  field  with  hardly  any  loss 
to  his  own  gallant  brigade. 

I  gather  that  neither  the  Russian  infantry  nor 
Cossacks  displayed  on  this  occasion  their  usual  tenacity. 
The  Headquarters  Staff  consider  it  a  marvellous  piece 
of  good  fortune  that,  just  where  the  threat  was  most 
formidable,  the  instrument  should  have  proved  so 
inferior.  They  believe  these  men  of  Orloff s  are  aU 
reservists. 

It  is  certainly  curious  that  the  Japanese,  marching 
for  the  first  time  into  an  intricate  country,  which  the 
Russians  nevertheless  should  have  at  their  finger-tips, 
are  able  to  surprise  and  out-manoeuvre  their  enemies 
with  so  much  apparent  facility  once  they  trust  them- 
selves out  of  their  trenches. 

So  much  for  the  danger  to  our  right  wing  firom  the 
north,  which  has  now  been  brushed  away  by  the  excel- 
lent Shimamura,  and  indeed  it  was  fully  time,  for 
things  have  not  been  going  by  any  means  so  brilliantly 
here.  The  Japanese  guns  are  silent,  or  very  nearly  so, 
either  because  the  enemy's  artillery  is  too  powerful  for 
them,  or  else  because  they  are  running  dangerously 
short  of  ammunition.  Consequently,  the  Russian  guns 
are  free  to  devote  their  entire  attention  to  Manju- 
yama,  and  it  is  being  so  pelted  with  shell  that  Okasaki 
and  his  gallant  Sendai  lads  will  need  all  their  constitu- 
tional absence  of  nerves  to  enable  them  to  stand  their 
ground  much  longer.     Worse,  the  companies  which 


Manjuyama  109 

reached  the  lowest  knoll  of  131  at  8  A.M.,  and  which 
afterwards  succeeded  in  getting  as  far  as  the  second  or 
penultimate  point  on  the  ridge,  have  now  been  fairly 
rafaled  off  the  mountain*  It  was  about  4  p.m.  when 
they  withdrew  to  Huaukufun  village,  having  to  a  cer- 
tainty lost  very  heavily,*  and  then  we  were  all  able  to 
see  Russian  reinforcements  darting  from  one  patch  of 
kaoliung  to  another,  and  coming  over  the  northern 
spur  of  the  mountain  in  little  thick  mobs  as  if  they 
meant  to  attack  Manjuyama  from  the  south.  The  sight 
woke  up  the  Japanese  guns  and,  by  a  spasmodic  effort, 
they  steadied  this  advance  with  shrapnel,  and  then, 
continuing  their  fire,  drove  it  back  over  the  spur  or  up 
again  towards  the  summit  of  the  mountain. 

I  see  so  much,  so  quickly,  that,  by  putting  points  one 
after  the  other,  like  beads  upon  a  string,  I  succeed  only 
too  admirably,  I  feel,  in  turning  the  most  marvellous 
things  any  man  has  been  so  lucky  as  to  see  into  a  series 
of  unarresting,  commonplace  details.  Now  this  repulse 
of  the  Russians  by  shrapnel,  when  baldly  stated,  seems 
almost  meaningless,  and  yet  if  I  could  give  even  a  dim 
idea  of  what  occurred  no  one  would  ever  forget  it. 
First,  hundreds  of  little  grey  mannikins  swarming 
forward  over  the  spur  of  Mountain  131 ;  next,  the 
thunder  symphony  played  by  all  the  Japanese  cannon  ; 
last,  the  crowd  convulsed,  tossed  about  like  autumn 
leaves  before  the  gale,  imtil  all  the  poor  atoms  were 
blown  back  in  heaps  from  whence  they  came.  Imagine 
a  swarm  of  ants  entering  eagerly  by  an  open  door 
until  the  housewife  seizes  her  broom  and  sweeps 
them  out  in  tortured,  struggling  clusters ;  remember 

*  Extract  from  next  day's  notes : — ^The  4th  Regiment  lost  270 
men  out  of  their  detachment  of  600  before  they  withdrew  from 
181  at  4  P.M.  yesterday. 


110  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

that  these  are  no  insects,  but  living  human  beings ; 
and  then  perhaps  some  dim  idea  may  be  formed  of  one 
small  incident  in  the  passion-play  of  to-day. 

Having  done  so  much,  the  guns  quickly  relapsed 
into  long  periods  of  complete  silence,  punctuated  by 
brief  intervals  of  very  desultory  and  obviously  feeble 
fire.  With  good  reason.  The  Russians  have  fifty  or 
sixty  guns  in  action  somewhere  near  Tatsurenko,"*^  as 
well  as  forty  guns  firing  hard  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  Safutun.  In  addition,  there  is  a  battery  and,  worst 
of  all,  three  howitzers  on  Mountain  131,  and  another 
battery  concealed  in  the  kaoliung  some  two  miles  due 
north  of  Manjuyama. 

The  Headquarters  Staff  were  in  the  gloomiest  mood  I 
have  yet  seen  them.  It  was  not,  as  far  as  I  can  diag- 
nose their  feelings,  because  they  fear  they  are  in 
imminent  danger  of  being  overwhelmed.  I  believe 
their  chief  dread  of  positive  disaster  passed  away  with 
the  flight  of  Orloff  before  Shimamura. 

It  is  rather  rage  and  bitterness  at  feeling  themselves 
impotent,  whilst  they  see  in  the  far  distance  trains 
puffing  northwards,  and  great  columns  of  troops  and 
transport  moving  towards  Mukden  behind  the  shield  of 
the  two  or  three  Divisions  who  are  &cing  us.  They  are 
grieved  also  for  the  troops  who  are  almost  worn  out, 
and  who  are  not  able  to  cook  their  rice  under  the  ter- 
rible artillery  fire. 

Towards  evening  this  fire  increased  to  the  maximum 
compass  of  100  quick-firing  guns. 

The  Japanese  artillery  was  dead  silent. 

I  have  no  words  left  to  convey  an  impression  of  the 
fire  of  100  quick-firers  discharging  their  unlimited  am- 
munition at  top  speed.  To  chronicle  that  the  guns 
pealed  faster  and  faster  until  the  separate  reports  merge 

*  ChineBe,  Talienkou  (see  Map  XXII.). 


Manjcttama  111 

into  one  long-drawn  roar ;  to  explain  that  the  air  seems 
alive  with  bursting  shell,  or  to  speaJc  of  hurricanes  ot 
shrapnel  and  the  whistling  of  their  bullets,  is  hope- 
lessly, miserably,  tame,  inadequate  and  paltry.  I  will 
confine  myself,  then,  to  the  matter-of-fact  statement 
that,  if  I  were  struck  deaf  and  blind  to-morrow,  it 
would  be  a  consolation  to  me  for  the  rest  of  my  life 
that  I  had  heard  and  seen  the  great  cannonade  of 
to-day. 

At  6.30  P.M.  things  grew  quieter,  and,  tired  out 
with  my  last  sleepless  night,  I  have  returned  here. 

Kankuantun,  September  2nd,  1904, 10  p.m. — All  day 
long  the  battle  has  raged,  but  with  singularly  little 
material  result  beyond,  I  imagine,  that  each  passing 
hour  sees  hundreds  perish  for  the  Mikado  or  the  Czar. 

The  relative  positions  of  Russians  and  Japanese  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Taitsuho  have  hardly  altered  at 
all  since  yesterday,  and  what  I  have  to  write  up  now 
chiefly  concerns  the  bloody,  devilish  combat  which 
raged  for  the  best  part  of  last  night  over  that  shell- 
scourged,  corpse-strewn  monticule,  Manjuyama. 

Last  night  I  slept  profoundly  till  I  was  awakened  at 
3.30  A.M.,  and  never  heard  a  sound  of  the  mortal  con- 
flict going  on,  only  some  four  miles  distant.  But  I 
felt  as  soon  as  I  got  on  my  horse,  and  rode  through 
the  village,  that  there  was  something  in  the  air — that 
some  new  dread,  anger  or  weariness,  had  spread 
through  the  dark  hours. 

Methought  many  of  the  soldiers  crossing  the  pontoon 
bridge  from  north  to  south  looked  at  me  with  strange 
glances,  less  friendly  than  usual  I  felt  glad^  for  once, 
that  I  had  an  officer  riding  by  my  side. 

Is  this  the  product  of  my  own  over-strained  imagi- 
nation ?  Partly,  perhaps,  but  not  entirely,  I  am  sure. 
The  First  Army  is  being  strained  to  breaking-point, 


112  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

and  under  that  strain,  although  the  officers  are  as 
polite  as  ever,  some  of  the  men  show  signs — very 
subtle  signs,  but  still  discernible  to  the  object — ^that 
they  are  not  inclined  to  be  too  discriminating  in  draw- 
ing  a  distinction  between  Kussians  or  any  other 
foreigners.  "  What  a  fantastic  theory,"  some  might 
say,  "  to  build  up  between  the  differences  of  a  smile  and 
a  scowl ! "  Well,  be  it  so,  my  friends.  As  an  old 
Highland  officer  used  to  say  to  my  father,  when  he  was 
getting  worsted,  "  I  canna  argue,  but  ye're  wrang." 

When  I  reached  the  Swallow's  Nest  fort  I  got  no 
invitation  to  come  and  hear  the  news;  nor  did  I 
have  the  opportunity  of  exchanging  one  syllable  beyond 
"  Good  morning  "  with  the  pre-occupied  Headquarters 
during  my  stay  on  the  hill. 

My  first  intimation  of  the  events  of  the  past  night 
came  from  a  wounded  soldier,  who  said  he  had  left 
Manjuyama  with  his  bayonet  wound  some  hours  ago, 
and  that  he  could  not  say  for  the  life  of  him  whether 
then  or  now  it  belonged  to  the  Japanese  or  the 
Russians. 

The  next  was  a  statement  made  by  another  wounded 
soldier,  who  declared  that  neither  Russians  nor 
Japanese  had  retreated  from  Manjuyama,  but  that 
the  Japanese  must  certainly  be  still  in  possession,  for 
the  Russians  were  all  dead. 

The  next  was  from  an  Adjutant  who  said :  "  The 
Second  Division  had  a  terrible  time  last  night.  If  the 
Russians  had  been  able  to  maintain  their  grip  on  Manju- 
yama, the  whole  of  Major-General  Nishi's  command 
(Second  Division)  would  have  been  ruined.  I  would 
like  to  see  two  more  bridges  built  forthwith,  and  the 
Guards  brought  over  as  quickly  as  possible." 

Then  I  got  something  more  authoritative  from  a 


Manjuyama  113 

person  attached  to  the  Staff,  to  whom  I  shall  be  for 
ever  grateful.  Putting  his  information  together  with 
the  result  of  Vincent's  talks  with  many  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  private  soldiers  in  Okasaki's  brigade 
yesterday  evening  and  last  nighty  I  find  that  no  less 
than  five  desperate  assaults  were  made  by  the  Bussians 
on  Manjuyama. 

The  first  was  in  connection  with  the  attempt  I  saw 
being  made  from  Mountain  131,  when  a  battalion  I 
could  not  see  attacked  simultaneously  firom  Heyentai 
with  the  bayonet. 

The  second  was  by  two  Russian  battalions  against 
the  left  of  the  30th  Begiment ;  an  assault  which  was 
so  fierce  and  sustained  that  the  brigade  reserve  had  to 
be  called  up  before  it  could  be  repulsed. 

The  third  occurred  only  a  few  minutes  later,  when 
two  more  Bussian  battalions  attacked  the  16th  Begi- 
ment,  and  actually  made  good  the  top  of  Manjuyama. 
Eventually  they  were  driven  down  again  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  but  only  fell  back  to  a  point  about  100 
yards  beyond  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  whence  they  kept 
up  a  very  hot  fire  on  the  crest.  Some  brave  Bussians 
now  crept  up  the  western  slope  unobserved  and  flung 
magnesium  fire-balls  on  to  the  hill.  The  Japanese 
trenches  were  thus  rendered  clearly  visible,  and  the 
enemy's  fire  became  intolerably  deadly.  The  men  tried 
to  put  out  the  lights  by  flinging  stones  at  them,  but 
to  no  purpose.  Then  a  soldier  stepped  forth  from  the 
ranks  in  the  good  old  Samurai  style,  calling  out  his 
name  and  regiment,  so  that  it  was  heard  above  even 
the  terrible  din  of  the  musketry,  and  quietly  set  about 
extinguishing  the  fatal  lights  with  the  butt  end  of  his 
rifle.  I  have  not  yet  got  his  name,  but  they  say  he  was 
not  killed. 

II  H 


114  A  Staff  Offigeb's  Scbap-Book 

The  moon  had  not  yet  risen,  and  in  the  intense  dark- 
ness the  opposing  lines  had  become  so  intermingled  that 
it  was  not  possible  to  tell  friend  from  foe  even  by  the 
flash  of  the  rifles.  But  dark  as  it  was,  it  was  evident 
enough  that  the  Russians  were  still  full  of  flght,  for 
away  to  the  west  the  band  of  a  regiment  on  the  march 
was  plainly  audible,  and  nearer  to  Manjuyama  another 
battalion  was  loudly  singing  the  National  Anthem. 

Seeing  the  urgent  necessity  of  getting  his  men  pro- 
perly in  hand  before  worse  should  befall,  Okasaki  told 
his  bugler  to  sound  the  cease  Are.  The  order  was  unhesi- 
tatingly obeyed  by  the  whole  of  the  Fifteenth  Brigade, 
although  many  of  the  officers  and  men  felt  that  by  doing 
so  the  initiative  was  being  surrendered,  and  a  great 
advantage  being  given  to  the  enemy.  So  the  Japanese 
lay  still  under  a  grievous  Are,  and  meanwhile  Okasaki 
and  his  officei's  tried  to  pull  together  their  broken  and 
disordered  line,  and  flt  it  to  stem  the  impending  wave 
of  humanity  which  might,  at  any  moment,  sweep  up 
again  out  of  the  surrounding  darkness. 

It  was  at  10  P.M.  that  it  came,  breaking  in  Are  and 
smoke  and  steel  full  against  the  right  of  the  16th 
BiOgiment.  Once  more  the  Russian  scouts  had  crept 
up  in  advance,  but  this  time  instead  of  flre-balls  they 
flung  into  the  trenches  numerous  hand-grenades,  the 
size  of  oranges,  which  blew  men's  bodies  to  pieces. 
Then  came  the  bayonet  charge  heralded  by  a  terrifying 
shout,  and  it  seemed  as  if  all  was  lost,  for  the  Japanese 
were  driven  over  the  crest  and-half*  way  down  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  hillock  before  they  could  make  a 
stand.  But  here  the  solid  16  th  Begiment,  aided  by  all 
the  available  reserves,  clung  on  desperately.  Now 
many  a  hero  breathed  his  last  amidst  his  fellows,  as  the 
soldiers  fought  it  out  with  their  bayonets,  the  big  men 


^-^ 


-■^,jr-^ 


Manjutama  115 

rushing  furiously  head  down,  the  small  men  alert  and 
wary 9  never  losing  a  chance.  Half  an  hour  the  death 
grapple  endured,  and  then,  once  more,  the  Russians 
fell  back,  leaving  yet  another  300  corpses  strewn  on 
those  fatal  slopes.* 

The  last  or  fifth  assault  came  on  at  2  a.m.  against 
the  30th  Regiment,  and  was  more  easily  repulsed.  But 
old  Colonel  Baba  saw  behind  the  retiring  lines  of  these 
stormers  another  dark,  slowly-creeping  mass  already 
enveloping  both  flanks  of  the  hill,  and  threatening,  by 
its  mere  momentiun,  to  carry  away  everything  if  once 
it  broke  loose  against  his  men.  It  was  doubtful  if  the 
defenders  could  stand  another  grand  assault,  and  the 
only  chance  seemed  to  be  to  anticipate  the  Russians 
and  to  make  a  vigorous  counter-charge  before  they 
attempted  to  storm.  All  reserves  were  called  up  and, 
led  by  the  30th  Regiment,  some  six  battalions  of 
Japanese  were  launched  against  the  Russian  left, 
which  broke,  and  the  whole  of  their  massive  column 
rolled  back  in  disorder  on  Safutun. 

If  OrloflTs  easy  defeat  yesterday  inclined  the  Japanese 
to  depreciate  their  enemy,  the  fighting  of  last  night 
has  again  raised  the  Russian  prestige  far  higher  than 
it  has  ever  stood  since  the  battle  of  the  Talu  on  May 
1st  last.  It  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  victory  or 
defeat  hung  evenly  balanced  in  the  scales  during 
several  hours.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  arrival  of 
Matsunaga's  brigade,Manjuyama  would  have  assuredly 
been  lost.t 

*  Indading  the  Colonel  of  the  128rd  Regiment,  and  his  hand- 
some grey  charger. 

t  The  following  is  extracted  from  an  entry  made  several  weeks 
later : — ^A  junior  but  responsible  Staff  officer,  having  remarked  to 
me,  **  We  should  never  have  repcdsed  the  enemy  had  not  Matsu- 
naga's  brigade  arrived  by  then.    If  we  had  not  had  the  help  of 


mr' 


116  A  Staff  Offtcbb's  Sorjlp-Book 

It  is  curious  how  the  tacit  consent  of  either  side  has 
frequently  bestowed  upon  some  obscure  corner  of  a 
battlefield  an  importance  which  no  one  could  well  have 
foreseen,  or  is  even  able  entirely  to  explain  afterwards 
in  the  light  of  actual  events.  Mountain  131  and 
Gochosan  were  obviously  vital  tactical  points,  but  who 
would  have  suspected  that  an  insignificant,  turtle- 
backed  hillock  like  Manjuyama,*  was  to  be  a  scene 
of  such  carnage,  and  the  turning-point  perhaps  of  an 
historic  battle.  Certainly  the  Bussians  with  Manju- 
yama  in  their  possession  could  have  brought  up  their 
guns  on  to  the  col  which  joins  it  to  Mountain  131,  and 
thence  have  supported  a  fiirther  advance  of  their  in- 
fantry by  direct  fire  at  medium  range,  instead  of  by 
indirect  fire  at  long  range.  But  although  such  a  con- 
sideration might  present  itself  invitingly  to  the  student 
of  the  map,  it  is  in  actuality  very  greatly  discounted  by 
the  kaoliung,  which  conceals  the  movements  of  infantry 
and  cavalry  across  the  plain  as  well  as  a  moonless  night, 
and  renders  artillery  action  of  any  sort  very  much  a 
matter  of  chance. 

The  same  drawback  lessens  the  value  of  Maniuyama 
as  an  infantry  position.  Had  the  harvest  been  gathered, 

Matsunaga's  Brigade,  I  think  myself  the  fight  might  have  had  a 
dififerent  ending."  I  felt  rather  puzzled,  as  Major-General  Okasaki 
had  personally  told  Captain  Vincent  that  Matsunaga  had  not  been 
engaged  at  all  on  the  night  of  the  2nd~8rd  of  September.  I,  there- 
f  ore,  begged  the  highest  available  authority  to  be  kind-  enough  to 
explain  to  me  the  true  state  of  the  case.  He  said :  *'  Matsunaga 
did  not  fire  a  shot,  but  his  arrival  as  a  reserve  to  the  Divisional 
General  enabled  him  to  send  every  man  of  Okasaki's  into  the  firing 
ine  instead  of  keeping  some  of  them  in  hand  under  his  own  orders." 
— I.  H. 

*  About  75  feet  high,  800  yards  long,  and  20  yards  broad  on  the 
top. — ^I.  H. 


Manjuyama  117 

this  hillock  would  have  afforded  a  very  fine  field  ot 
fire.     With  the  crops  standing  there  is  no  field  of  fire, 
for  it  is  obviously  impossible  that  any  one  can  see  from 
the  top  of  Manjuyama   more  than  a  very  few  yards 
beyond  the  foot  of  the  slope.     What  then  is  the  value 
of  a  field  of  fire  when  the  objective  cannot  be  located 
even  approximately  ?    Per  contra^  any  one  who  chooses 
to  climb  Manjuyama  becomes  instantly  visible   from 
any  rising  ground  over  the  whole  battlefield.     I  believe 
it  is  this  very  conspicuous  visibility  of  the  Rice  Cake 
Hill  which  is  causing  both  sides  to  concentrate  their 
efforts  upon  it.     Companies,  Russian  or  Japanese,  when 
launched  out  into  the  bewildering  sea  of  kaoliung, 
instinctively  converge  upon  Manjuyama  as  moths  fly 
towards  a  candle,  and  many  of  them  with  the  same 
results.     Something  more  or  less  similar  took  place  at 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  when,  on  December  13th, 
1862,  Burnside  seemed  deliberately  to  select  Marye's 
HUl  as  a  suitable  point  upon  which  to  hurl  division 
after    division    to   its    destruction.      Presmning  the 
commander  to  have  been  sane,  there  is  no  possible 
explanation  for  such  a  negation  of  all  the  rudiments  of 
tactics,  except  that  the  fatal  hill  stood  out  conspicu- 
ously and  arrested  the  attention  of  a  brain  which  was, 
for  the  moment,  incapable  of  cool  reflection.     It  is  my 
firm  belief  that,  in  the  present  instance,  the  Russians 
would  do  much  better  to  leave  their  montecule  alone 
and  content  themselves  with  holding  its  Japanese 
defenders  by  a  little  gentle  skirmishing. 

From  Manjuyama  to  Gochosan  is  a  distance  of 
2^  miles,  the  whole  of  it  thickly  covered  with  giant 
crops.  This  gap  between  Okasaki  and  Shimamura  is 
filled  by  three  of  Eigoshi's  battalions — ^all  he  has  to 
spare,  as  one  of  his  two  raiments  has  been  sucked 


118  A  Staff  Offiosb's  Scrap-Book 

into  the  maelstrom  of  the  Manjujama  struggle.  One 
battalion  per  mile ;  that  is  rather  -weak  !  Had  any  of 
the  Russian  attacks,  which  fell  with  such  sledge-hammer 
violence  upon  the  entrenchments  of  Manjuyama,  been 
piloted  by  capable  officers  through  the  dense  kaoliung 
half  a  mile  or  so  further  north  they  must  inevitably 
have  pierced  the  defensive  line,  and  even  now,  to-night, 
if  they  will  only  push  boldly  in  anywhere  between 
Manjuyama  and  Gochosan  they  should  smash  right 
through,  at  least,  in  the  first  instance.  In  that  case, 
Okasaki  at  Manjuyama  will  have  Mountain  181  on 
his  left  flank  and  a  force  of  Russians  marching  and 
fighting  in  rear  of  his  right  flank  under  cover  of  the 
kaoliung.  I  think  he  must  in  that  case  fall  back,  and 
Shimamura,  too,  would  begin  to  feel  isolated  at  the 
Yentai  coal-mines,  so  fistr  away  from  the  pontoon  bridge. 

The  Guards  could  make  nothing  of  Mountain  151, 
as  was  to  be  expected,  seeing  that  the  Russians  were 
in  a  practically  impregnable  position,  and  that  Okasaki 
could  not  take  Mountain  131. 

These  poor  Guards  are  always  getting  very  hard 
nuts  to  crack.  I  believe  they  have  spent  the  best 
part  of  the  day  lying  on  the  south  bank  of  the  unford- 
able  Taitsuho,  being  fired  at  from  151,  without  making 
any  serious  attempt  to  cross,  by  which  inaction,  I  think, 
they  show  their  wisdom,  considering  the  artillery  and 
other  conditions  prevailing  at  present.  Meanwhile, 
an  order  went  to  them  two  hours  ago,  telling  them  to 
leave  a  brigade  of  artillery  and  its  escort  at  Shobyoshi> 
so  as  to  deter  the  enemy  from  vacating  Mountain  151, 
either  to  reinforce  another  part  of  the  field  or  to  take 
the  offensive,  whilst  with  their  main  force  they  march 
round  first  east,  then  north,  to  join  Headquarters  at 
Kankuantun. 


"T 5^ .  .    KM    ,        »M_  ,     .F'  -  .  ^r"^S8f"^PF'?^i^«^P 


W 


Manjtttama  119 

On  the  whole,  neither  Guards  nor  Second  Division 
have  been  able  to  do  more  to-day  than  to  maintain 
their  ground.  The  only  important  movement  made 
by  the  First  Army  has  been  carried  out  by  Umezawa 
with  his  mixed  brigade.  On  August  30th  he  had 
received  orders  to  capture  Penchiho,  and  then  to  move 
westwards,  to  join  hands  with  the  Twelfth  Division 
to  the  north  of  the  Taitsuho.  In  pursuance  of  these 
instructions,  Umezawa  captured  Penchiho  at  daybreak 
on  August  31st.  On  September  1st,  he  received  more 
definite  orders,  telling  him  he  was  to  march  acrass  the 
mountains  and  endeavour  to  surprise  Orloff  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Yentai  coal  mines.  Accordingly,  he 
moved  north-west  of  Penchiho  on  the  2nd  instant,  and 
was  on  the  point  of  marching  definitely  west  for  the 
colliery  hills  when  he  heard  that  a  fresh  force  of 
Russians  had  appeared  to  be  north  of  Pingtaitsu. 
Bold  as  he  is  said  to  be,  Umezawa  could  not  afford 
to  march  off  the  ground  leaving  an  enemy  in  the 
act  of  descending  upon  his  communications,  and  so 
he  had  to  retrace  his  steps  and  attack.  The  result 
was  a  brilliant  little  victory,  and  the  retreat  of  the 
Russians  to  the  northwards  {see  Map  XXXV.). 

Umezawa  has  now  been  able  to  carry  out  his  orders, 
and  joined  Shimamura  at  the  coal  mines  at  1  p.m. 
to-day  (September  3rd),  having  left  two  battalions 
and  two  guns  at  Pingtaitsu  to  contain  the  defeated 
Russians. 

Before  I  close  my  record  of  the  great  events  of  the 

past  twenty-four  hours,  I  must  note^a  remark  made 
to  me  to-day,  on  the  Swallow's  Nest  hill,  by  a 
civilian  of  sorts,  who  has  a  brother  commanding  a 
battalion  of  the  12th  Regiment.  He  said,  '^I  fear 
we  have  no  genius  for  commerce.     Our  only  method 


120  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

of  getting  on  in  the  world  will  be  to  go  continually  to 
war  and  exact  very  heavy  indemnities  as  the  price  of 
peace."  Captain  Okada,  who  overheard  him,  went  for 
him  thus :  "  That  is  a  very  bad  sentiment  of  yours- 

Mr. 1     If  Japanese  say  such  things,  no  wonder 

that  a  yellow  peril  theory  finds  ready  acceptance- 
You  assure  a  foreigner  that  we  Japanese  must  sell  our 
blood  for  money,  but  I  assure  him  that  such  a  thing 
no  true  Japanese  would  ever  do  ! '' 

Mr. then  became  abashed  and  remained  silent. 

Midnight. — We  are  next  door  to  Headquarters  in  the 
village,  and  going  out  just  now  for  a  minute  before 

turning  in  I  knocked  up  against  young ,  who  has 

given  me  an  interesting  postscript  wherewith  to  round 
up  my  record  of  this  eventful  day. 

It  seems  hardly  credible,  but  the  First  Army  has  been 
entirely  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  Oy ama  and 
the  Second  and  Fourth  Armies  from  yesterday  night 
until  a  few  minutes  ago.  The  wires  were  cut,  as  it  was 
only  natural  to  suppose  they  would  be  cut,  and  then 
the  Japanese  armies,  separated  by  only  twenty  miles 
of  mountainous  country,  were  unable,  although  it 
was  a  brilliant  sunny  day,  to  talk  to  one  another. 
Here  the  much  abused  British  army  may  take  comfort 
and  realise  how  all  its  past  thirty  years  promiscuous 
fighting  has  not  been  time  so  entirely  wasted  as  some  of 
its  critics  would  like  it  to  suppose !  There  is  nothing 
more  trying  to  the  nerves  than  isolation,  and  the  cut 
wires  go  far  to  explain  the  unmistakable  tension 
which  existed  during  the  day  on  the  summit  of  the 
Swallow's  Nest  hill. 

Now  a  few  minutes  ago  communications  were 
restored,  and  Headquarters  have  just  heard  that  the 
Second  and  Fourth  Armies  have  not  been  able  to  occupy 


Manjuyama  121 

all  the  defences  on  the  south  side  ox  the  river  until 
5  P.M.  this  evening. 

i^oor  General  Euroki  1  Owing  to  the  breakdown  in 
the  signalling  arrangements  and  the  consequent 
severance  of  communications,  he  had  to  act  upon 
instructions  many  hours  old.  These  had  been  his 
warranty  for  believing  that  the  other  armies  would 
reach  the  river  by  the  evening  of  the  2nd,  and  now  it 
turns  out  that  they  will  barely  have  reached  it  by  the 
evening  of  the  3rd. 

This  is  rough  on  the  First  Army,  which  has  shed 
its  blood  too  freely  in  the  firm  belief  that  it  was  lagging 
behind  in  the  great  pursuit,  and  could  not  comprehend 
why,  when  pressing  on  to  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat, 
it  should  have  found  itself  so  suddenly  on  the  very  brink 
of  destruction.  A  dozen  British  soldiers  with  a  couple 
of  heliographs  would  to-day  have  saved  the  Japanese 
many  hundreds  of  lives  that  were  wasted  in  attempting 
the  impossible. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LIAOTANQ 

Kankuantun,  September  Ath^  1904. — Heavy  smoke 
this  morning,  which  came  drifting  over  from  the  Liao- 
yang  direction  and  mingled  with  the  river-mist  until  it 
produced  a  very  colourable  imitation  of  a  London  fog. 

Headquarters  were  delightfully  cordial  and  forth- 
coming to  me  to-day,  and  did  their  best  to  supplement 
my  news  gleanings  of  yesterday.  I  found  that  I  had 
already  got  my  facts  fairly  well  arranged,  the  gist  of 
what  I  now  heard  being  as  follows  : 

**  If  we  had  advanced  yesterday,  the  enemy  could 
have  enveloped  us  with  four  times  our  strength.  It  is 
very  lucky  indeed  that  Kuropatkin  did  not  come  and 
develop  a  great  attack  upon  us  with  superior  force  at 
any  time  since  the  day  before  yesterday.  On  the 
evening  of  the  31st  we  intended  to  play  with  the 
enemy  until,  by  getting  Matsunaga  over  from  the 
Guards^  the  Second  and  Twelfth  Divisions  should  be 
complete.  We  then  meant  to  leave  a  screen  against  the 
Mountain  131  whilst  we  pushed  straight  against  the 
enemy's  front  for  the  railway,  vitJ  Heyentai  and  Safutun. 
When,  however,  we  learnt  that  Orloff  with  nearly 
a  whole  Division  was  in  a  position  to  operate  agatinst 
our  right  flank  from  the  coal  mines,  we  became  stricken 
with  paralysis,  as  it  was  altogether  too  risky  an  opera- 
tion for  any  commander  to  push  his  force  into  a  hole 


LlAOTANO  12S 

leaving  the  enemy  in  superior  force  on  both  his  wings. 
Thus  our  General  felt  himself  most  disagreeably  em- 
barrassed all  day  yesterday. 

"  Beyond  all  doubt  the  Russians  have  had  twelve  or 
thirteen  Divisions  available  to  crush  us  had  they  felt 
fully  determined  to  do  so.  But  they  have  shown  a 
great  deal  of  vacillation,  and  until  now  our  good  luck 
has  certainly  been  almost  past  belief.  I  suppose  Euro- 
patkin  still  thinks  we  have  six  Divisions.  Five  minutes 
ago"  (1.45  P.M.)  ^'Marshal  Kuroki  received  a  report 
from  the  Second  Division  saying  that  they  had  occupied 
Mountain  131,  which  will  enable  us  to  pivot  round  with 
131  as  ^  point  cPappui  for  our  left,  and  who  knows  but 
that  we  may  yet  succeed  in  cutting  off  some  of  the 
Bussians.  I  must  now  go,  but  before  you  close  that 
favourite  companion  of  yours,  just  write  down  in  it  for 
thought  in  future  jears  that,  on  September  1st,  Nishi* 
had  only  the  16th  and  30th  Begiments  with  him.  In 
the  afternoon  came  the  29th  Begiment,  and  then  on 
the  evening  of  September  2nd  Matsunaga  arrived 
with  the  4th  Begiment.  f  Each  reinforcement  appeared 
upon  the  scene  only  just  in  the  very  nick  of  time  to 
save  us,  so  if  ever  in  days  to  come  you  wish  to  teach 
troops  the  imperative  necessity  of  doing  whatever  they 
have  to  do,  whether  it  be  marching  or  fighting,  with 
all  the  energy  and  cdl  the  force  at  their  command,  you 
can  tell  them  the  touch-and-go  story  of  little  Bice-cake 
hill  and  preach  the  moral  afterwards  as  much  as  you 
like.  The  text  is  good,  whether  you  take  it  from  the 
Bussian  point  or  our  own. 

*  Lieutenant-General  Nishi,  oommanding  the  Second  Division. 

t  This  does  not  quite  correspond  with  my  own  conclusions  as  given 
previously,  but  the  Japanese  staff  officer's  statement  had  better  be 
accepted  as  accurate. 


124  A  Staff  Officbr's  Sceap-Book 

"Yesterday,  and  the  day  before  yesterday,  the 
General  Staff  had  no  appetites.  But  although  it  may 
be  that  we  shall  all  be  accounted  failures,  yet  I  feel  very 
certain  that  our  attacks,  and  the  bold  face  we  have  put 
upon  the  situation,  since  we  first  began  to  get  into 
difficulties  on  September  2nd,  are  the  true  causes 
which  have  forced  the  enemy's  troops  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Taitsuho  to  pass  over  to  the  north  bank, 
whereby  the  Second  and  Fourth  Armies  have  captured 
the  forts  of  Liaoyang.  Thus  the  rdle  of  our  army  has 
been  fiilfiUed,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  one  half. 

"  One  more  word,  lest  you  begin  to  think  of  me 
only  as  a  lecturer  on  solemn  matters.  Yesterday  a 
military  coolie  had  been  taking  rations  to  Manju- 
yama  and  was  picking  his  way  back  under  such  a 
heavy  fire  as  even  great  warriors  do  not  often  hope  to 
encounter.  At  last  a  shell  burst  just  at  his  feet, 
covering  him  with  dirt,  but,  by  some  strange  accident, 
leaving  him  uninjured.  Instantly  he  stooped  down, 
and  picking  up  a  stone  flung  it  into  the  smoke, 
crying  out,  *  There,  you  devil — ^take  that ! ' " 

I  saw  but  little  more  of  interest  from  my  perch  on  the 
Swallow's  Nest.  The  Second  Brigade  of  Guards  under 
Watanabe  joined  Headquarters  at  mid-day.  The  fire  of 
the  enemy  was  rapidly  dying  out,  a  battery  near 
Safutun  being  left  almost  alone  in  its  activity.  More- 
over, the  evacuation  of  131  could  only  bear  one  inter- 
pretation, and  accordingly  the  General  issued  these 
orders  at  2  p.m.  : 

"The  First  Army  will  now  pursue.  The  Second 
Division  will  advance  to  Lotatai.  The  Twelfth  Divi- 
sion will  get  into  touch  with  the  right  of  the  Second 
Division  and  will  march  on  Sandoha,  leaving  a  portion 
of  their  force  to  occupy  the  coal  mines  and  to  keep  a 


LlAOTANG  125 

look  out  for  the  enemy  north  of  them.  Major-General 
Watanabe,  with  his  Brigade  of  Guards  and  the  29th 
Kobi,  will  take  up  a  position  at  Heyentai  and  hold  fast 
there  as  a  general  reserve.  The  commander  of  the 
army  will  also  go  to  Heyentai." 

A  messenger  was  sent  to  Asada  and  the  First 
Brigade  of  Guards,  who  were  marching  round  by 
Amping,  to  aquaint  them  with  the  commander's 
intentions.  At  5.10  p.m.  news  came  to  hand  that  the 
Second  and  Fourth  Armies  had  at  last  occupied  all  the 
enemy's  positions  south  of  the  river  Taitsuho.  The 
commander  of  the  Guards  Cavalry  also  sent  in  about 
this  time  to  say  that,  as  the  enemy  had  now  evacuated 
151,  he  had  made  good  the  low  ground  between  131 
and  that  mountain.  As  all  the  dominating  features  of 
the  battlefield  were  now  in  Kuroki's  hands,  he  decided 
to  spare  the  Asada  Brigade  of  Guards  a  forced  march 
and  sent  them  permiasion  to  halt  the  night  at  Amping. 

Before  dark,  Umezawa  from  the  coal-mines  reached 
Sanchatsu  (Map  XXIII.),  where  he  is  now  ensasnng 
the  enemy^  rear-guard,  consisting  of  an  i^^ 
brigade  and  two  batteries.  * 

In  a  temple  juLSt  below  Manjuymna^  September  5  th, 
1904. — I  seize  the  propitious  moment  of  a  half-way 
halt  to  write  up  this  insatiable  note-book.  Started  at 
4  A.M.  and  marched  through  Huankufun  towards 
Manjuyama.  Much  delayed  by  transport  along  the 
roads  and  on  the  pontoon  bridge.  Had  a  talk  with  a 
wounded  soldier  in  the  village  whilst was  making 

*  The  hostile  forces  got  into  contact  at  8  p.m.  and  carried  on  a 
sniping  and  skirmishing  contest  until  past  midnight,  no  particular 
damage  being  done  to  either  side.  For  the  closing  scenes  of  the 
pursuit  and  a  few  simple  comments  on  the  battle,  see  pp.  128  to  140. 
^I.H. 


^      L  '  mim^ 


126  A  Staff  Offiobe's  Scrap-Book 

inquiries  as  to  Kuroki's  whereabouts.  He  said  the 
men  all  loved  the  war,  and  cared  nothing  for  hunger  or 
fatigue  where  the  renown  and  authority  of  the  Emperor 
were  concerned.  When  they  were  wounded  or  sick 
they  had  only  one  wish,  and  that  was  to  be  allowed 
to  rejoin  their  companies.  He  also  told  me  that  the 
Russians  had  stretched  an  enchanted  wire  in  front  of 
Manjuyama,  and  that  if  any  Japanese  soldier  was 
unlucky  enough  to  touch  it  his  head  flew  off  his 
shoulders  that  very  second.  His  remarks  might  appear 
bombastic  or  high  falutin  to  any  one  who  did  not  hear 
them,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  were  spoken  quite 
simply  and  with  matter-of-fact  conviction  from  the 
heart. 

About  9  A.M.  it  began  to  rain  heavily — a  regular 
thunder  plimip.  We  rode  for  refuge  to  this  temple 
just  short  of  the  eastern  slope  of  Manjuyama,  and 
here  we  have  found  Kuroki  and  the  General  Staff 
forming  a  somewhat  remarkable  group. 

''  My  tables — meet  it  is  I  set  it  down." 

In  the  temple  are  figures  of  Buddha  and  his  dis- 
ciples, whose  fine  serenity  contrasts  with  the  fevered 
energy  of  the  mortals  at  their  feet.  One  of  the 
disciples  is  serving  as  a  peg  from  which  hangs  Prince 
Kuni's  dripping  waterproof.  General  Kuroki  is  seated 
between  His  Imperial  Highness  and  Major-General 
Watanabe,  commanding  the  Second  Brigade  of  Guards, 
on  the  one  side  and  Buddha  himself  on  the  other.  A 
couple  of  planks  fixed  up  between  the  Buddha  throne 
and  a  chair  have  been  made  to  serve  as  a  rude  table. 
Across  these  planks  is  laid  a  map,  upon  which  Colonel 
Matsuishi,  vice-chief  of  the  General  Staff,  and  a  young 
assistant,  are  busy  with  pencil  and  india-rubber  enter- 


BWT" 


LlAOYANG  127 

ing  the  positions  of  our  troops  at  the  moment.  Now 
a  senior  Staff  Officer  advances  from  the  background 
and  squatting,  down  upon  his  heels,  Indian  fashion, 
explains  the  situation  on  the  map  and  discusses  it, 
eagerly,  with  Kuroki  and  General  Watanabe,  both  of 
whom  put  on  spectacles  to  see  more  clearly.  They 
say  nothing  and  the  Staff  Officer  says  a  great  deal. 
Occasionally  Kuroki  punctuates  a  pause  when  the 
lecturer  stops  for  want  of  breath  by  an  approving  nod. 
It  is  now  9.30  and  I  feel  rather  sad  as  they  have  told 
me  nothing  yet.  They  look  fairly  happy,  but  not 
exactly  radiant  or  triumphant  either.  I  hear  guns  in 
the  distance  firing  very  steady  and  slow ;  I  should 
imagine  some  9  or  10  miles  distant.  So  soon  as 
the  sun  comes  out  I  ought  to  see  something  from 
Manjuyama. 

Safutun^  evening. — I  saw  nothing  from  Manjuyama, 
but  I  saw  too  much  upon  it.  All  along  the  crest  were 
Japanese  trenches.  No  corpses  ;  only  many  stains  and 
shapes  of  clotted  blood  which  even  the  thunderstorm 
had  not  been  able  to  wash  away.  But  when  I  stepped 
forward  and  viewed  the  western  declivity  my  heart 
for  a  moment  stood  still  with  horror.  Never  have  I 
seen  such  a  scene.  Such  a  mad  jumble  of  arms  and 
accoutrements  mingled  with  the  bodies  of  those  who  so 
lately  bore  them,  arrested,  cut  short  in  the  fury  of 
their  assault,  and  now,  for  all  their  terrible,  menacing 
attitudes  so  very,  very  quiet.  How  silent ;  how 
ghastly ;  how  lonely  seemed  this  charnel  house  where 
I,  a  solitary  European,  beheld  rank  upon  rank  of  brave 
Russians  mown  down  by  the  embattled  ranks  of  Asia. 

A  stone  pillar  on  the  crest  of  the  plateau  was  simply 
plastered  with  lead,  and  Vincent,  whom  I  met  shortly 
afterwards,  told  me  that  he  had  learnt  from  a  Japanese 


iTT^lBT?w      «|iJi  ■    H^ 


128  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

soldier  that  throughout  the  night  of  the  2nd  it  had 
been  mistaken  for  ^*  some  brave  Bussian."  Marching 
on  towards  the  west,  we  found  the  roads  almost  knee 
deep  in  sticky  mud  in  which,  like  flies  in  jam,  several 
batteries  of  Japanese  artillery  were  feebly  struggling. 
Another  instance,  if,  indeed,  one  were  wanted,  of  how 
seriously  the  Japanese  gun  is  under-horsed,  notwith- 
standing its  lightness.  All  the  infantry  had  to  march 
along  a  narrow  slippery  raised  path  to  the  right  of  this 
quagmire.  About  a  mile  beyond  Manjuyama,  I  came 
upon  a  dead  Bussian  soldier  lying  right  across  the  path, 
holding  his  cap  in  his  hand.  Thousands  must  have 
stepped  over  his  body,  but  no  one  had  yet  found  leisure 
to  bury  him.  He  was  a  very  handsome  boy  of  about 
twenty ;  singularly  dark,  and  on  his  face  was  a  slight 
smile  as  if  he  was  dreaming  some  happy  dream. 

Fenshan  village  {three  miles  north-east  o/Liaoyang). 
September  Gth^  1904. — Started  to  march  here  at  8  a.m. 
A  bright,  glorious  morning,  and  so  fresh  as  to  be 
almost  cold.  After  walking  some  four  miles  I  drew  up 
at  a  little  clump  of  pine-trees  about  fifty  yards  to  one 
side  of  the  road.  Shortly  afterwards  the  Headquarters 
Staff  rode  by,  and  an  important  personage  seeing  me, 
left  the  cortege  and  came  out  to  pass  the  time  of  day. 
I  asked  him  if  he  was  pleased.  He  thought  for  some 
time  before  he  answered,  and  then  said, "  d  mmtie"  At 
this  moment  my  little  fox  terrier,  which  now  answers 
to  the  name  of  Booski,  began  to  chase  a  goat,  and  in 
the  confusion  another  officer  took  the  opportunity  to 
whisper  to  me,  **  Un  tiers  seidem£nt"  After  Booski 
had  been  reprimanded,  my  friend  resumed : 

^'The  enemy  commenced  his  real  retreat  on  the 
night  of  the  3rd.  To  bring  off  un  grand  coup  we 
must  have  attacked  and  forced  our  way  through  the 


»w      m '  ^^av<^^w^MW>^VM^w*aiVNBiVHPMMBqpipK:^ 


LlAOYANG  1 29 

Bussian  flank  guard  during  daylight  on  the  2nd.  We 
took  the  mamelon  Manjujama  on  the  night  lst-2ndy 
but  when  it  came  to  the  continuation  of  our  westerly 
moyement  next  morning  we  found  ourselves  badly  in 
want  of  the  help  of  our  Division  of  Guards.  So  great  an 
enterprise  demands  careful  preparation  in  advance,  and 
we  were  not  ready.  Moreover,  Marshal  Oyama  was 
already  inclined  to  think  that  our  First  Army  had  been 
too  venturesome  and  had  sent  us  positive  orders  that 
we  must  be  careful  not  to  commit  ourselves  too  far.  By 
September  3rd  the  opportunity  had  passed,  as  we  were 
then  faced  by  a  very  superior  force.'* 

I  was  then  asked  if  I  had  been  given  any  account 
of  the  progress  of  the  pursuit  since  the  issue  of  the 
orders  by  Kuroki  at  2  p.m.  on  September  4th.*  I 
replied  that  I  was  sure  the  women  and  children  in 
London  knew  more  of  what  was  going  on  than  I  did, 
inarching  along  in  the  kaoliung,  devoured  by  curiosity, 
And  only  supporting  my  ignorance  by  the  persistence 
of  my  hopes  of  obtaining  some  such  windfall  as  an 
interview  with  some  officers  of  high  degree.  At  this 
he  seepied  well  pleased,  and  getting  out  his  note-book 
spoke  as  follows:  "Well,  the  fact  is,  the  Divisions  found 
themselves  unable  to  cany  out  the  orders  we  issued 
to  them  at  2  p.m.  on  the  4th  instant.  The  Divisional 
Generals  received  them  before  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
but  neither  did  the  Second  Division  advance  to  Lotatai, 
nor  did  the  Twelfth  Division  get  into  touch  with  the 
right  of  the  Second  Division  nor  march  upon  Sandoha. 
Not  at  once,  that  is  to  say.  Not  as  had  been  intended. 
The  Second  Division  did  not  begin  its  march  until 
almost  dusk.  Both  brigades  lost  their  way  in  the 
kaoliung,  and,  after  struggling  in  vain  for  some  time 

*  See  p.  124. 
11  I 


130  A  Staff  Officbb's  Scrap-Book 

to  make  head  against  their  difficulties,  lay  down 
where  they  were  to  await  the  morning  light,  having 
covered  some  two  or  three  miles  only  instead  of  the 
six  which  was  expected  of  them.  The  Twelfth 
Division  did  not  commence  its  advance  until  after 
10  P.M.  and  soon  took  the  village  of  Sho-Tatsurenko,* 
{See  Map  XXIL) 

''To  avoid  the  kaoliung  the  subsequent  advance 
was  made  along  the  raised  embankment  of  the  railway, 
by  following  which  they  hoped  to  arrive  at  Sandoha, 
their  objective.  Hardly  had  they  progressed  a  mile, 
however,  when  they  were  charged  into,  full  tilt,  by  a 
Bussian  colunm,  which  came  tearing  down  the  embank- 
ment with  loud  cheers.  No  one  has  been  able  to 
give  me  any  just  idea  of  subsequent  events. 
Apparently,  the  Bussians  fought  furiously,  although 
without  much  discrimination.  Through  the  kaoliung, 
at  random,  companies  rushed  about  wildly  with  their 
bayonets  at  the  charge.  On  the  Japanese  side  also 
there  was  much  conftision  and  some  loss,  and  the 
advance  was  entirely  arrested,  t  By  daybreak  the 
Bussians  had   withdrawn,  and  without   cavalry  our 

*  Ohinese,  Hsiao  Talienkou« 

t  Extract  from  an  entry  made  on  September  18th:  "Oaptain 
Jardine,  who  was  with  this  brigade,  tells  me  that  whenever  one  side 
charged  the  other  side  always  charged  to  meet  them.  To  a  listener 
the  effect  was  extraordinary.  A  hot  musketry  fight  might  be  in 
progi'ess,  when  suddenly  the  Bussians  would  sound  the  charge. 
Instantly  all  firing  would  cease  on  either  side,  the  Japanese  cheering 
wildly  in  answer  to  the  drums  and  bugles  of  the  enemy.  The 
Russian  cheer  *  Hoorah ! '  the  Japanese,  on  such  desperate  occasions, 
cheer  '  Wa-a-a  1 '  The  impression  given  by  these  cheers,  mingling 
with  the  rattle  of  the  drums  and  the  clangour  of  the  bugles,  was 
more  melancholy  than  miqi^ial,  sounding  like  a  prolonged  wail  of  grief 
ascending  from  the  troubled  earth  up  into  the  dark  heavens." — ^ 


\ 


Llaoyang  131 

Twelfth  Division  had  no  longer  any  chance  of  bringing 
them  to  book. 

**  Yesterday,  Umezawa  with  his  mixed  brigade 
advanced  from  his  position  immediately  north  of  the 
Twelfth  Division  as  far  as  a  line  facing  north-west 
through  Sankwaisekisan"*^  (see  Map  XXIII.  or  XXXIII.). 
Here  he  was  engaged  by  a  regiment  of  infantry,  a 
regiment  of  lancers,  and  two  batteries.  He  was  not 
able  to  make  much  impression  on  the  enemy.  He  may 
still  be  fighting  and  may  do  some  good  ;  but  I  fear  not. 
The  battle,  in  fact,  is  over,  and  the  First  Army  has  not 
captured  many  prisoners  or  guns.t 

^'It  is  these  self-same  guns  which  have  made  it  too 
difficult.  Also  I  must  say  the  Bussians  made  a  fine  re- 
tirement. They  did  not  run.  away  in  too  great  haste, 
I  assure  you.  There  was  no  disorder,  and  every  mile 
or  two  they  halted  and  re-formed  their  ranks,  and  then 
continued  the  retirement  in  echelon,  moving  from  one 
point  of  vantage  to  another. 

**  However,  from  the  fact  that  the  enemy  did  not 
conmience  his  retreat  until  the  Srd,  it  is  plain  that  he 
fell  back  simply  because  he  was  beaten.  If  Kuropatkin 
had  merely  meant  from  the  first  to  fight  a  delaying 
action,  he  would  have  had  all  his  arrangements 
organised  to  that  end,  and  would  certainly  have  started 
sooner.  It  seems,  then,  probable  that,  if  the  Fourth  Army 
had  not  taken  the  great  redoubt  and  pierced  theBussian 
line  to  the  SQuth  of  the  Taitsuho,  Kuropatkin  would 
have  massed  troops  against  us  and  attacked  us  in  over- 
whelming force  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  Equally 
probable  is  it  that,  if  we  had  not  stormed  and  held 
Manjuyama,  Kuropatkin   would   have   sent  another 

*  Ohinese,  Sankuaishishan  or  *<  Three  Great  Rock  Hilj.'' 
_  t  The  Vixst  Army  captui^dt  no  gunai. 


132  A  Staff  Offi(3br's  Scrap-Book 

Diviaion  south  of  the  river  and  have  assumed  the  offen- 
sive against  Oyama.  But  as  the  Japanese  were 
successful  and  equally  threatening  on  both  sides  of 
the  river,  all  movement  was  paralysed  except  that  of 
retreat" 

Having  spent  a  whole  delightful  hour,  extravagant 
to  himself  but  profitable  to  me,  the  great  man  gave  his 
bridle  rein  a  shake  and  disappeared,  whilst  I  followed 
myself  more  slowly,  congratulating  myself  upon  the 
fountain  of  knowledge  I  had  so  opportunely  struck. 

There  is  scope  for  a  fiett  volume  on  the  battle  of  Liao- 
yang,  and  although  my  stock  of  indelible  pencils  will 
not  carry  me  veiy  far.  in  that  direction,  I  feel  I  ought 
to  make  an  effort  to  sketch  in,  however  lightly,  some 
of  my  general  impressions* 

The  first  point  which  strikes  me  is  the  clear,  simple, 
e^nd  direct  character  of  the  Japanese  strategy,  carried 
out  though  it  has  been  on  a  grandiose  scale.  I  think 
it  is  Clausewitz  who  says  that  in  war  everything  is 
simple,  but  the  simple  is  the  most  difficult.  The  Man- 
ohurian  campaign  will  probably  be  quoted  hereafter  as 
101  instance  in  point.  I  believe  that  Liaoyang  was 
selected  as  the  point  of  concentration  for  the  three 
armies  from  the  very  outset  of  the  campaign,  and  that 
all  arrangements  throughout  were  subservient  to  the 
end  of  doing  precisely  what  we  have  just  attempted  to 
do  here.  True,  no  scheme  of  strategy  can  ever  be  in- 
dependent of  the  actions  of  the  enemy,  and  several 
times  since  the  battle  of  the  Talu  it  has  seemed  likely 
that  modifications  would  have  to  be  introduced.  Only 
a  few  weeks  ago  our  Headquarters  thought  the  battle 
might  be  fought  at  Kaiping.  A  fortnight  ago,  giving 
Kuropatkin  credit  for  a  skilful  use  of  his  chances,  they 
were  sure  Oyama  would  have  to  fight  at  Anshantien, 


ii'-i 
a  s' 

ill 


• 


I 


LlAOYANG  133 

and  the  First  Army  at  Amping.  Only  after  August 
26th  did  they  dare  permit  themselves  to  hope  that  the 
great  event  would,  after  all,  take  place  at  the  pre- 
destined spot. 

But  variations  such  as  these  do  not  affect  the  general 
spirit  of  the  scheme,  which  was  that  the  three  armies 
should  keep  quite  distinct,  on  separate  bases  and  lines 
of  communication,  advancing  slowly  and  methodically 
in  strict  combination,  preserving  approximately  equal 
distance  from  Kuropatkin's  headquarters,  but  drawing 
nearer  and  nearer  to  one  another  as  they  approached 
him,  so  that,  at  last,  on  the  actual  battlefield,  wherever 
that  might  be,  they  should  find  themselves  clasping  one 
another's  hands  in  a  semi-circle  round  the  enemy* 
Here  we  find  reminiscences  of  the  scheme  of  the  Prus* 
sians  which  led  up  to  Koniggr&tz,  especially  in  the  fact 
that,  in  either  case,  concentration  before  entering  upon 
the  tactical  area  was  practically  impossible  for  geogra- 
phical reasons. ''^  It  is  natural  enough  that  the  Japanese 
should  have  copied  Yon  Moltke's  method  of  concentra- 
tion on  the  battlefield  as  they  are  essentially  German- 
taught  strategists.  In  comparing  the  two  schemes, 
however,  it  must  be  remembered  that  things  ai-e  not 
quite  as  they  were  thirty-eight  years  ago.  Strategi- 
cally, no  doubt,  the  dangers  and  advantages  of  such 
a  plan  remain  substantially  unmodified,  but  tactically 
the  prizes  of  a  successful  concentration  are  greater 
whilst  its  realisation  is  more  difficult.  The  reason  the 
prizes  are  greater  is  that,  with  magazine  rifles,  smoke- 

*  Yon  Moltke,  however,  had  reasonable  grounds  for  believing  that 
with  his  more  rapid  mobilisation  be  could  oonoentrate  the  Prussian 
Army  in  the  enemy's  country  before  the  latter  could  interfere.  This 
scheme  was  nullified  by  the  King,  who,  for  political  reasons,  arrested 
the  advance  after  the  strategical  deployment  had  been  completed. 


i 


^^'^^^'"''^"••^ 


134  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

less  powders,  and  an  artillery  which  carries  five  or  six 
miles,  an  army  half  surrounded,  even  if  only  by  an  equal 
force,  finds  itself  at  a  great  disadvantage.  A  mass  is 
no  longer  able  to  break  through  a  thin  line  as  used  to 
be  the  case  when  weapons  only  carried  a  few  hundred 
yards,  and  an  attack  against  an  enveloping  force  can, 
owing  to  the  very  long  range  of  firearms,  be  received 
by  a  flanking  fire  wherever  it  endeavours  to  push 
against  the  concave  formations  of  troops  which  have 
advanced  from  dispersed  bases. 

The  reason  the  difficulties  of  realising  such  a  scheme 
are  greater  than  they  used  to  be  is,  again,  because  of 
modem  armaments,  which  facilitate  the  holding  of  a 
strong  force,  for  a  time,  by  a  much  weaker  force.  Thus, 
if  the  commander  of  the  concentrated  army  has  pre- 
vision and  quickness  to  take  the  situation  in  time,  it  is 
easier  for  him  than  it  used  to  be  to  delay,  and  hold  off 
at  arm's  length  one  portion  of  the  converging  armies 
with  a  comparatively  weak  force,  suitably  disposed  in 
an  entrenched  position,  whilst  he  vigorously  employs 
the  great  bulk  of  his  troops  to  overwhelm  the  other 
portions.  In  old  days  this  game  could  be  played  on  an 
area  of  a  few  square  miles,  i.e.,  on  the  battlefield  itself, 
but  now  guns  and  rifles  carry  so  far  that  action  should 
be  taken  at  an  earlier  stage,  and  the  effort  should  be 
made  when  the  converging  forces  are  at  least  twenty 
miles  from  one  another. 

From  this  point  of  view,  Kuropatkin  should,  at  all 
costs,  have  hung  on  to  Anshantien  with  a  strong  delay- 
ing force  whilst  bringing  all  the  troops  he  could  muster, 
including  his  reserves,  up  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Tangho  on  the  26th  to  stake  victory  or  defeat  on  the 
issue  in  that  part  of  the  field. 

It  may  plausibly  be  objected  that  Oyama  would  in 


LlAOYANG  135 

such  case  have  found  out  what  was  happening,  and 
would  have  rushed  Liaoyang  hefore  Kuropatkin  could 
get  back  after  repulsmg  Kuroki,  But  this  is  just  my 
point ;  defences  such  as  those  of  Anshantien  cannot  be 
rushed  nowadays  in  five  minutes,  even  by  superior 
numbers.*  If  no  other  example  were  available,  that  of 
Kuroki's  helplessness  to  break  through  the  Bussian 
rear-guard  on  September  4th,  although  he  saw  his 
enemy  slipping  away  to  the  northward,  would  be  fairly 
conclusive.  Moreover,  Liaoyang  would  not  have  been 
at  the  mercy  of  a  successful  assailant  of  Anshantien. 
After  those  defences  came  the  outer  Liaoyang  position, 
then  the  inner  circle  of  forts,  and  when  the  city  itself 
should  fall,  was  there  not  the  great  Taitsuho  flowing 
deep  and  strong  just  to  the  north  of  it  with  all  its 
bridges  in  Bussian  hands  ? 

Some  may  think  it  would  have  been  preferable  to 
have  reversed  the  process,  and  to  have  delayed  Kuroki 
whilst  fighting  the  battle  of  the  war  at  Anshantien, 
which  would  then  have  culminated  in  a  tremendous 
counter-attack  against  Oyama.  I  do  not  agree ;  but 
this  is  a  matter  of  opinion.  The  remarkable  point  for 
consideration  is  that  it  appears  doubtfiil  if  Kuropatkin 
ever  fairly  faced  the  problem.  Certainly  no  one  here  can 
say  whether  he  intended  to  hold  Kuroki  and  defeat 
Oyama,  or  to  hold  Oyama  and  defeat  KurokL  Lideed, 
difficult  as  it  is  to  believe  such  a  thing,  it  almost  seems  as 
if  Kuropatkin  had  failed  to  grasp  the  full  significance 
of  the  Japanese  strategical  scheme,  although  its  general 
course,  together  with  the  final  tactical  envelopment, 
stood  up  like  a  live  creature  out  of  the  map.  Other- 
wise how  is  it  possible  to  account  for  the  fact  that 
Mountain  131,  Manjuyama,  Gochosan,  andtheTentai 

*  See  note  on  p.  144. 


136  A  Staff  Officbr's  Scrap-Book 

colliery  hills  were  not,  to  some  extent  at  least,  pre- 
viously prepared  for  defence. 

One  six-inch  gun  on  the  top  of  Mountain  181  would 
have  altered  the  whole  course  of  the  battle  on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Taitsuho.  Two  shells  would  have 
driven  Kuroki  and  his  staflf  from  the  very  convenient 
Swallow's  Nest  hill.  The  pontoon  bridge  would  have 
been  in  jeopardy.  The  Second  Division  Field  Artillery 
would  have  been  completely  exposed,  and  the  troops 
entrenched  on  Manjuyama  would  have  felt  a  succes- 
sion of  lOOlb.  high  explosive  shells  fired  at  that  distance 
and  angle  almost  unbearable.  Even  the  Japanese 
mountain  guns  which  fired  with  such  effect  from  the 
southern  side  of  the  crest  of  (jochosan  would  have  been 
taken  in  reverse  and  easily  driven  into  the  kaoliung  by 
a  six-inch  cannon  on  131.  I  do  not  presume  to  say  the 
Bussians  should  have  profited  by  the  experiences  of  the 
British  army.  But  why  not  accept  a  lesson  from  the 
humble  Boers?  Bulwana  was  just  as  difficult  a 
mountain  to  haul  a  big  gun  on  to  as  131 ;  Lydenberg 
and  Laing's  Nek  far  more  difficult.  Two  thousand  men 
will  make  a  cannon  climb  like  a  chamois,  and  if  it  is  lost 
after  it  has  done  its  business — why — what  matter? 
Oannon  are  not  keepsakes,  but  killing  machines. 

Still  more  surprising  to  me  is  the  inexplicable  failure 
of  the  Bussians  to  oppose  the  crossing  of  the  Twelfth 
Division  at  Lentowan.  Surely  no  better  opportunity 
has  ever  offered  itself  for  the  employment  of  a  force  such 
as  the  Cossacks  are  supposed  to  be.  We  have  actually 
adopted  the  words  Cossdch  post  into  our  official 
military  phraseology,  so  excellent  do  we  consider  the 
Cossack  theory  of  watching  and  guarding  a  line  of 
country.  Under  the  most  elementary  system,  there 
should  have  been  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  information 


LlAOYAKO  137 

of  the  Japanese  crossing  the  moment  it  hegan ;  indeed 
I  have  it  on  sure  authority  that  the  movement  was  not 
conducted  with  any  exceptional  secrecy  or  silence. 
Once  the  alarm  was  given,  the  mounted  troops  are  not 
worth  their  salt  who  could  not,  before  morning,  have 
been  swarming  in  the  hills  to  the  east  of  the  river  from 
whence,  although  they  might  not  have  been  able  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  the  Division,  they  could  most 
certainly  have  very  seriously  harassed  and  delayed  its 
advance. 

The  conception  actually  entertained  by  Kuro- 
patkin  must  remain  obscure  until  reports  are  received 
from  the  Bussian  side,  but  it  certainly  appears  as  if 
he  merely  cherished  the  barren  intention  of  putting  a 
sufficient  force  at  Amping  and  Anshantien  to  repulse 
the  attacks  of  Kuroki  and  Oyama*  But  conceptions 
should  be  based  on  the  principle  of  smashing  the 
enemy.  A  wise  Grovernment  will  forgive  even  failure 
to  the  general  who  suffered  defeat  from  the  vault- 
ing ambition  of  his  plans.  But  the  general  who 
waits  on  events,  endeavouring  to  be  safe  everywhere, 
preferring  to  lose  a  chance  rather  than  run  an 
avoidable  risk,  is  only  a  good  general  from  the  enemy's 
point  of  view. 

When  Kuroki  had  a  success  on  August  28  th,  and 
made  good  on  the  27th  the  right  bank  of  the  Tangbo, 
Kuropatkin  began  to  lose  his  calmness.  Obviously  he 
had  visions  of  the  First  Army  making  a  forced  march 
behind  him  into  Liaoyang.  Instead  of  sending  back 
merely  a  Division  to  steady  Kuroki  whilst  he  himself 
gave  Oyama  battle  at  Anshantien,  he  retired  the  whole 
of  his  troops,  who  could  not  have  been  improved  by 
the  process,  and  bundled  them  up  within  a  radius  of 
four  or  five  miles  from  Liaoyang.     He  thus  encouraged 


138  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgrap-Book 

the  Japanese  to  an  extraordinary  extent  (a  fact  I  can 
personally  vouch  for)  and  enabled  them  to  realise  their 
long-planned,  greatly  hoped  for,  tactical  concentration. 
The  battle  was  now  more  than  three  parts  won  by 
Oyama,  but  even  at  this  stage  a  stroke  of  good  fortune 
put  a  great  chance  again  into  Kuropatkin's  hands.  The 
Taitsuho  rose  in  flood,  denying  its  north  bank  absolutely 
to  the  Second  and  Fourth  Annies,  and  hindering  the 
tactical  concentration  which  had  appeared  for  a  moment 
to  be  achieved.  One  Bussian  Division  with  some 
brigades  of  artillery  and  Cossacks  to  patrol  the  banks 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  hold  Oyama  in  check  for 
the  moment.  The  balance  of  the  vast  army  was  available 
to  fling  upon  the  top  of  Kuroki.  It  is  improbable  that 
the  coming  century  will  produce  a  crisis  so  deeply 
fraught  with  fate.  Would  the  Bussians  merely  use  the 
swollen  river  as  a  means  of  escape,  as  Moore  used  the 
Esla  during  his  retreat  to  Corunna,  or,  would  they 
seize  the  goods  the  Gods  had  sent  them  and  make  the 
river  a  pivot  of  manoeuvre  for  a  great  counter-stroke 
against  the  First  Army  ?  For  one  terrible  moment  it 
did  seem  as  if  Kuropatkin  was  actually  going  to  put 
his  fortune  to  the  test  and  let  the  Bussian  soldiers 
have  a  real  good  fight — no  piecemeal  encounters ;  no 
botUed-up  reserves,  but  every  man  in  the  firing  line, 
like  Kuroki  on  July  31st  or  August  26th.  But  no : 
just  as  the  fate  of  Empires  was  trembling  in  the 
balance,  there  began  that  retreat  on  Mukden  which 
took  the  heart  out  of  the  Bussians  who  were  stiU 
holding  their  ground  and  renewed  all  the  energy  of 
the  exhausted  Japanese.  The  Commanders  of  the 
First  Army  played  their  part  here  whole-heartedly  ; — 
tooth  and  nail,  no  reserves— every  officer  and  man 
fighting  like  a  wild  cat.     The  Bussian  Commander 


LlAOYANG  139 

never  flung  his  whole  army  into  the  business  con 
amore^  as  Skoboleff  I  am  sure  would  have  done,  in 
the  true  adventurous  neck  or  nothing  style. 

I  began  with  the  strategy  ;  I  will  end  with  the 
tactica  The  Japanese  tactics  realised  the  true  ideal 
of  employing  every  single  man  (except  the  cavalry), 
and  of  carrying  out  the  general  idea  in  accordance 
with  the  probabilities,  careless  of  minor  risks  or  defeats. 
The  Japanese  leaders  fought  throughout  on  the  lines 
of  Napoleon's  maxim  that  the  moral  is  as  to  the  physical 
as  three  to  one.  The  Bussian  leaders  acted  differently. 
Tolstoi  says  the  army  is  everything ;  the  generals  are 
nothing.  Napoleon  affirms  that  in  war  it  is  the  man 
who  is  wanted;  not  men.  Into  such  company  my 
own  small  opinion  dares  not  intrude  itself. 

A  Bussian  private  has  in  him  the  proper  soldier's 
stuff;  give  him  something  clear,  simple,  and  definite 
to  fight  for,  and  his  dead  bear  witness  how  resolutely 
he  can  make  the  assault.  But,  by  messing  troops 
about  (a  heart-breaking  process,  for  which  our  own 
men  have  an  explicit  but  quite  unmentionable  expres- 
sion), by  withdrawing  them  prematurely  and  hiu*riedly 
fi*om  elaborate  defences ;  then  yielding  the  battlefield 
on  account  of  the  loss  of  one  or  two  non- vital  positions  ; 
it  is  easy  to  turn  an  army  of  heroes  into  an  army  of  hares. 
I  think  it  is  an  infinite  credit  to  the  Bussian  privates 
that  they  seem  to  have,  to  a  great  extent,  resisted  the 
demoralising  tactics  of  their  leaders.  Not  that  I  mean 
to  try  and  gauge  the  weight  of  the  importance  of  the 
part  played  by  moral  in  our  last  battle.  I  had  as  lief 
attempt  to  prove  that  a  bishop  was  a  better  form  of 
national  investment  than  a  battleship.  But  it  will  be 
generally  accepted  that  the  Japanese  armies  after  the 
events  of  the  past  month  must  have  had  some  advan- 


140  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

tage  here,  and  the  more  I  think  the  more  certain  am  I 
that  it  was  not  strategy  or  tactics,  or  armament  or 
information,  which  won  the  battle  of  Liaoyang  for 
Oyama,  but  that  it  was  rather  the  souls  of  the 
Japanese  troops  which  triumphed  over  the  less 
developed,  less  awakened,  less  stimulated,  spiritual 
qualities  of  the  Russians. 

Let  no  Briton,  however,  presume  to  think  that  the 
Bussians  will  not  learn  a  vast  deal  nationally  as  well 
as  militarily,  by  this  war,  or  that  they  will  necessarily 
in  their  next  Jmpaign  display  the  same  want  of  bril- 
liancy  and  determination  in  their  highest  ranks  or  of 
manoBuvring  and  shooting  power  in  the  lowest.  Manju- 
yama  has  convinced  the  Japanese  Army  that  the 
hearts  of  the  Bussian  soldiers  are  in  the  right  place. 
This  is  the  great  thing.  The  need  of  intelligence  and 
of  higher  individual  training  must  have  been  driven 
into  the  consciousness  of  the  Bussian  Army  by  its 
sanguinary  defeats,  and  in  the  ranks,  even  now,  there 
is  no  lack  of  powers  of  endurance  or  of  moral  strength. 
Bussia  will  survive  Manchuria.  An  empire  whose 
soldiers  can  die  as  the  Bussian  privates  died  at  Manju- 
yama  is  "no  deid  yet^'  as  a  92nd  Highlander  private 
inscribed  upon  the  tombstone  of  his  battalion  which 
had  been  buried  in  effigy  on  the  sad  day  when,  in  1881, 
the  War  Minister  then  reigning  murdered  its  ancient 
and  honourable  number. 

10.30  P.M. — ^A  man  of  the  Guards  cavalry  has  just 
come  in  with  a  message  to  say  that  my  baggage- cart 
and  baggage  have  been  destroyed  by  a  Bussian  shell, 
which  killed  three  men  of  the  escort  and  the  horse,  and 
wounded  a  fourth  man  badly.  It  seems  a  strange 
thing  that  such  an  accident  should  happen  to  me  out 
of  all  the  First  Army.     I  never  knew  such  luck,  but 


UTJ- 


LlAOYANG  141 

after  all  I  suppose  I  ought  to  rejoice  that  I  was  not 
marching  with  the  unfortunate  escort. 

Fenshan,  September  7th^  1904. — The  remains  of  my 
kit  came  in  here  at  1.30  a.m.  to-daj.  There  is  going 
to  be  a  court  of  inquiry.  The  orderlies  tell  different 
stories.  Some  say  the  shell  was  fired  by  the  Russians 
at  the  cart  and  hit  it.  Others  that  the  cart  went 
over  a  blind  shell  and  burst  it.  I  suspect  myself  that 
one  of  the  escort  picked  up  a  shell  and  then  carelessly 
let  it  drop,  a  pernicious  trick  indulged  in  by  soldiers 
of  all  armies. 

Fbnshan,  Septemher  7th,  1904. — ^All  my  kit  has  been 
riddled,  bedding,  clothes,  reports,  note-books — nothing 
has  escaped.  The  most  serious  damage  is  that  caused 
to  my  gum  boots,  my  new  khaki  coat,  and  forage  cap.  I 
daresay  a  bicyclist  may  be  able  to  patch  up  the  rents 
in  the  gum  boots  as  if  they  were  tyre  punctures,  but 
the  coat  is  past  praying  for,  and  I  had  been  saving  it 
up  religiously  for  my  call  upon  Oyama,  whenever  the 
fortune  of  war  should  be  pleased  to  give  us  admission 
to  Liaoyang.  However,  I  have  one  consolation.  I 
always  picture  the  Devil  roaming  about  and  waiting 
his  chance  against  me,  armed  with  a  great  bow  and  a 
quiver  full  of  arrows.  Most  of  them  are  quite  harm- 
less to  my  particular  individuality,  but  here  and  there 
is  a  shaft  winged  with  black  feathers,  and  these  have 
power  to  work  me  deadly  hurt.  When  the  Fiend  can 
be  tempted  into  discharging  one  of  his  black  arrows 
for  the  sake  of  some  mere  material  injury,  such  as  the 
loss  of  a  bet  or  a  mischance  to  my  worldly  goods,  then 
I  thank  Heaven  it  is  no  worse  and  breathe  more 
freely. 

FmiiSH AN,  September  8tA,  1904. — Bode  into  Liaoyang. 
Mr.  Masuda  has  washed  my  coat  and  done  his  best  to 


142  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgrap-Book 

sew  up  the  holes  in  it,  but  I  could  have  executed  the 
repairs  as  well  myself  with  a  brad-awl  and  some  string. 

I  found  our  attaches  with  the  Second  Army  still 
in  the  state  of  tutelage  from  which  we  emerged 
directly  we  left  Fenghuangcheng.  They  were  confined 
to  a  radius  of  some  800  yards.  I  have  heard  a  great 
deal  about  the  Second  Army,  but  I  shall  leave  the  south 
bank  of  the  Taitsuho  strictly  alone,  as  the  affairs  of  my 
own  army  give  me  more  than  enough  to  think  about. 
After  comparing  experiences,  I  was  offered  a  magnificent 
meat  and  bread  luncheon.  Colonel  Haldane  apologised 
for  the  quality  of  the  bread,  which  was,  so  he  said, 
inferior !  !  !  I  nearly  dropped  dead.  This  rechercJiS 
luncheon  spoke  more  eloquently  than  volumes  of  dry 
military  literature  as  to  the  advantages  of  campaigning 
in  combination  with  a  line  of  railway. 

I  went  on  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  Marshal  Oyama 
and  General  Kodama,  his  Chief  of  the  Staff.  What  a 
difference  does  war  make  in  the  status  of  a  general ! 
In  Tokio,  Oyama  and  Kodama  were  grandees,  certainly, 
but  still  hardly  so  exciting  to  encounter  as,  for  instance, 
the  Prime  Minister,  the  leader  of  the  Opposition,  or 
a  personage  about  the  Court.  Here,  they  are  demi- 
gods, there  is  no  doubt  about  it.  Without  an  effort 
they  can  fill  my  note-books  to  overflowing  with  good 
things  or  send  me  empty  away  to  Fanshan,  or  for  that 
matter  to  Dalny  or  Japan. 

I  was  kept  waiting  a  couple  of  minutes  in  a  small 
room  furnished  in  European  style  when  the  door  opened 
and  Oyama,  Kodama,  and  Fukushima  walked  in. 
Oyama  was  dressed  in  khaki,  with  tight  Bedford  cord 
pantaloons,  and  slippers.  He  looked  remarkably  well. 
He  made  me  seat  myself  in  a  huge  purple  velvet  arm- 
chair whiph  had  been  Kuropatkin's,  so  they  said.  Then; 


I 

£ 
( 

I 
1 


jmmmmmm 


LlAOYANG  143 

champagne  and  large  Manilla  cigars  were  handed 
round.  When  I  saw  the  champagne  I  said,  ''  I  cannot 
restrain  my  smiles  on  seeing  the  face  of  an  old  friend/' 
When  this  sentiment  was  translated,  it  happened  to 
make  a  Japanese  poem  of  exactly  the  right  number  of 
syllables.  Oyama  was  greatly  pleased,  as  he  is  a  bit 
of  a  poet  himself.  In  drinking  my  health  Kodama  said  : 
**  We  must  crack  the  next  bottle  at  Mukden."  I  was 
questioned  about  my  own  adventures  and  a  good 
deal  also  about  the  feelings  of  the  First  Army,  on 
which  subject  I  felt  it  prudent  to  say  as  little  as 
possible.  I  asked  Marquis  Oyama  if  he  was  pleased 
with  the  result  of  his  operations,  and  he  replied : 
*^  Moderately ;  the  Bussians  have  managed  their 
retreat  too  cleverly." 

I  told  them  the  story  of  my  misadventure  with 
the  Bussian  shell  and  about  our  soldiers  of  the  First 
Army  having  had  to  eat  their  rice  uncooked.  They 
asked  me  if  I  had  tried  it.  I  said,  ''  yes,"  on  which, 
genuinely  astonished  and  distressed  in  their  hospitable 
souls,  they  exclaimed :  ''  What!  a  British  general  make 
his  dinner  off  raw  rice  1 "  I  replied :  "  I  did  not  make 
my  dinner  off  it ;  I  tried  one  grain  to  see  what  it  was 
like,  and  that  sufficed  for  my  wants."  This  disposed 
of  the  incident  and  seemed  to  put  them  all  into  high 
good  humour. 

No  one  could  have  been  brighter  or  cheerier  than  the 
redoubtable  trio,  and  I  did  not  know  till  I  got  back 
here  again  that  General  Fukushima  had  lost  his  son 
in  the  battle.  It  is  the  Japanese  code  of  manners  that 
no  personal  sorrow  or  calamity  should  be  allowed  even 
in  the  smallest  degree  to  influence  ordinary  social 
duties  or  the  manner  in  which  they  are  conducted. 
Here  was  a  case  in  point. 


144  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

When  I  took  my  leave  they  came  out  with  me  to  the 
doorstep  and  pointed  out  the  big,  canvas-roofed  shed 
adjoining  the  house.  It  was  intended  to  provide  shelter 
for  the  escort  of  a  generalissimo,  and  they  said  :  "  Is  it 
not  thoughtful  of  Kuropatkin  to  have  made  such  con- 
venient arrangements  for  us  ?  "  Then  a  final  salute 
and  I  was  oS. 

It  was  late  when  I  got  back,  and  I  foimd  Head- 
quarters had  been  so  put  out  by  the  action  of  one  or 
two  of  my  friends,  the  journalists,  who  had  overstayed 
their  leave  of  absence,  that  they  had  telegraphed 
orders  to  all  the  outlying  military  attach^  to  come  in 
from  their  Divisions  to  Headquarters.  So  we  shall  be 
a  big  troupe  again,  just  as  we  were  in  the  days  at 
Fenghuangcheng,  which  now  appear  so  distant. 

By  the  Vray,  I  must  not  go  to  bed  to-night  without 
first  chronicling  the  remarkably  fine  dinner  I  had 
to-night,  enriched  as  it  was  by  the  Chinese  cakes  and 
bread,  apples,  pears,  and  grapes  I  bought  on  my  way 
back  through  Liaoyang. 

NOTE  TO  PAGE  186 

The  AAhaniien  position  was  9  miles  loDg;  ezoeptionally  strong 
agiiinst  any  frontal  attack,  and  not  easily  to  be  turned.  Tnie,  a 
gap  of  12^  miles  separated  its  eastern  flank  from  the  equally  advanoed 
Russian  section  of  defence  at  Langtsushan,  and  into  this  gap  the 
Japanese  Tenth  Division  from  Hsimucheng  (Tokubokojo)  appeared 
to  be  advancing.  But  the  country  to  be  traversed  was  so  impracti- 
cable that  the  Bussian  troops  on  the  spot  should  have  been  strong 
enough  to  resist  any  Japanese  advance  from  that  direction.  The 
right  of  the  position,  which  rested  on  low  hills  rising  out  of  a  sea  of 
In^jintig  to  tiie  west  of  the  railway,  was  almost  equally  difficult  to 
mancBUvre  against.  To  turn  this  western  flank  part  of  the  Second 
Army  must  have  made  a  diiaur  through  the  kaoliung,  ezposing 
themselves  to  all  the  danger  of  surprise  and  counter  attack. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI 
SOJOURN  AT   FENSHAN 

Fbnshan,  September  10th,  1904.  —  My  brother 
attach^  have  oome  in,  all  very  fit  and  full  of  news. 
We  have  a  room  to  ourselves,  thank  heaven.  They 
have  seen  and  made  notes  of  all  the  details  of  the 
combats  of  their  respective  Divisions,  and  I  have  got 
the  nm  of  the  operations  from  the  Headquarters  point 
of  view,  so,  between  us,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  produce 
some  &irly  useftd  reports. 

I  have  just  heard  an  account  of  a  sermon  preached  a 
few  days  ago  to  the  Imperial  Guards  by  a  Buddhist 
priest.  He  spoke  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  making 
the  most  of  one  of  his  rare  chances.  The  sermon  was 
so  good  that  he  fi*equently  made  his  audience  roar  with 
laughter.  He  inculcated  the  Buddhist  view  of  the 
insignificant  value  of  life,  and  the  foUy  of  clingmg  to 
it  too  eagerly,  by  telling  the  men  a  story  of  two  fiiends 
meeting  in  the  street.  After  the  usual  salutations, 
one  Mend  asked  the  other  after  the  health  of  his  most 
honourable  father.  The  reply  was  that  the  father  had 
just  been  drowned,  which  cast  rather  a  damper  upon 
the  conversation.  Plucking  up  coiu*age,  the  man  whose 
father  had  been  drowned  asked  his  fiiend  in  turn  as  to 
the  health  of  a  &vourite  uncle.  The  reply  was  that 
the  uncle  had  also  just  been  drowned.  This  time 
the  friends  could  hardly  help  laughing.    Thus  they 

u  K 


146  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

discovered  two  things  :  first,  that  death  could  not  be 
so  terrible  after  all ;  secondly,  that  the  sea  was  the 
most  dangerous  place  in  the  world. 

"  In  arriving  at  such  a  conclusion,"  said  the  preacher, 
« they  were  only  partly  right,  for  you,  my  brave  fnends, 
being  many  of  you  seafaring  men,  are  well  aware  that  the 
sea  is  by  no  means  so  specially  dangerous  as  appears  to 
have  been  too  hastily  supposed.  The  moral  of  my 
story  is  that  the  place  of  every  one's  death  is  pre- 
ordained, and  ,that  as  one  place  is  actually  just  about 
as  dangerous  as  another,  there  is  nothing  in  nature  or 
in  philosophy  which  should  incline  a  man  to  go  less 
boldly  into  a  fight  than  into  his  bed  at  night.  In 
neither  case  should  he  for  a  moment  trouble  his  head 
with  any  trifling  consideration  as  to  whether  he  will 
come  out  of  it  alive  or  be  taken  out  of  it  dead.  I  do 
not,  of  course,  presume  to  speak  to  the  Imperial  Guards 
about  any  fear  of  the  enemy.  But  I  refer  rather  to 
the  fear  some  of  you  may  have  that  by  some  personal 
negligence  or  rashness  you  may  possibly  do  something 
to  injure  your  country  or  the  Emperor.  I  tell  you, 
fear  not  at  all.  If  your  intentions  are  right,  then  your 
actions  will  be  right  also." 

Beferring  later  on  in  his  discourse  to  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  world  and  of  the  flesh  he  said  :  "  A  man 
may  awake  in  the  morning  and  long  very  much  for  an 
Osaka  cigarette  to  smoke,  or  for  a  delicious  sweetmeat 
made  of  red  or  white  beans.  If  the  powers  of  evil  are 
very  strong  within  him,  he  may  even  hope  it  will  rain 
very  heavily,  so  that  on  that  day  at  least  no  exhaust- 
ing march  will  be  possible.  During  peace-time,  when 
each  of  you  is  his  own  master,  such  thoughts  are 
merely  weak  and  rather  contemptible,  but  in  war-time 
they  are  absolutely  wicked  and  unworthy  of  a  Japanese 


^Rj  «"•  '  ■^..^^"-■^■■i^Bi^r»"^«5.^w^r"^t;^-^«»ww:«^^i^"**»^^pi^'jn 


Sojourn  at  Fbnshan  147 

soldier.  Should  your  mirrors  reflect  such  thoughts  as 
these,  then,  indeed,  as  the  poet  finely  says,  you  will 
see  an  ugly  thing.  Such  ideas  are  Tokio  ideas;  fit 
only  for  Tokio  and  much  to  be  fought  against  and 
regretted  even  when  they  occur  there  *' ;  from  all  of 
which  will  be  gathered  that  there  is  quite  a  family 
resemblance  between  the  sermon  of  a  Buddhist  priest 
and  a  Chiu'ch  of  England  parson.  Only,  on  the  matter 
of  military  virtues,  the  Buddhist  assumes  a  much 
loftier  standard  than  the  good  Padre  would  venture  to 
take  up. 

On  the  other  hand,  let  no  one  imagine  that  the 
Japanese  soldiers  are  immaculate  lambs  when  it  comes 
to  the  ordinary  civilian  qualities.  I  will  not  enumerate 
their  lapses  from  the  narrow  paths  of  virtue,  for  it 
becomes  not  a  guest  to  notice  even  the  peccadillos  of 
his  hosts.  But  there  are  just  a  few,  and  I  am  not 
sure,  without  further  inquiry,  what  view  the  Buddhist 
priest  would  take  of  such  derelictions.  Probably  he 
would  disapprove,  but  not  to  the  same  extent  as  might 
be  imagined  from  his  diatribe  against  what  to  us  alas ! 
are  very  venial  sins  of  the  self-indulgent  or  unmanly 
type. 

Fenshan,  Septemher  15th,  1904. — We  are  leading  a 
very  quiet  life,  writing  our  official  reports  of  the 
battle,  and  reports  also  on  all  sorts  of  fancy  subjects : 
cavalry,  artillery,  &c.  &c. — for  we  feel  we  must  earn 
our  pay. 

Jardine  came  in  two  days  ago  with  fine  accoimts  of 
the  storming  of  the  lofty  Kosarei  mountain  on  the 
night  of  August  25th-26th  by  the  intrepid  Kigoshi, 
and  with  even  more  exciting  stories  of  the  confused 
night-fighting  in  the  kaoliung,  near  the  Yentai  coal- 
mines, on  the  night  of  September  4th-5th,     We  have 


.j..*.ni^  ijB.   . — % ^iL^^^msim 


148  A  Staff  Officbr's  Scrap-Book 

all  talked  over  the  failure  of  the  Japanese  to  make  any 
effective  pursuit,  and  our  small  committee,  at  any  rate, 
have  granted  them  plenary  absolution.  The  First  Army 
had  been  fighting  nine  or  ten  days  and  nights,  and 
had  lost  very  heavily.  Had  the  Russians  stood  they 
wotild  have  attacked  them  again ;  but  as  the  Russians 
were  removing  themselves,  every  one  was  only  too 
glad  to  have  done  with  them.  K  Kuroki's  energetic 
orders  had  been  addressed  to  fresh  troops  they  might 
have  been  acted  on  with  corresponding  ener  J;  as  it 
was,  neither  executive  officers  nor  men  were  burning 
to  maintain  contact  with  the  receding  zone  of  the 
Bussian  shrapnel,  and  they  tacitly  acted  on  this  dis- 
inclination, feeling  especially  justified  by  the  fact  that 
their  own  under-horsed  guns  were  unable  to  come  up 
through  the  mud  to  support  them.  Thus  it  came  to 
pass  that,  instead  of  starting  soon  after  3  p.m.,  the 
Divisional  Commanders  deliberately  delayed  until 
darkness ;  thus  they  got  lost  in  the  ketoliung,  and  thus 
the  Russians,  who  are  said  by  the  Japanese  to  have 
been  still  full  of  fight,  were  able  to  get  away  without 
loss  to  their  dignity  or  to  their  mcUSriel. 

No  task  is  more  agreeable  to  the  armchair  critic 
than  to  pounce  upon  the  slackness  of  an  army  to  take 
full  advantage  of  a  victory.  The  comfortable  man 
sitting  by  his  fire  after  a  good  dinner  sees  through 
the  illimiinative  spectacles  of  a  glass  or  two  of  port 
wine  that  one  more  trifling  effort — ^a  mere  nothing 
compared  to  preceding  struggles — ^would  produce 
incalculable  results.  Next  morning  he  ts^es  up 
his  pen  and  lets  drive.  Probably  he  is  wrong. 
When  two  evenly-matched  armies  fight  for  several 
days  and  nights  there  is  not  often  much  to  choose 
between  the  condition,  moral  and  physical,  of  victors 


.L  ■  ■»<  ■  miwm  m  J  .'wvBieaisaBiaOBv 


Sojourn  at  Fbnshan  149 

and  vanquished.  Just  one  hair's  breadth  of  difference, 
possibly,  if  it  could  be  traced,  in  the  behaviour  of  a 
drummer,  bugler,  or  simple  private  would  have  com- 
pletely reversed  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  Nevertheless 
the  irrevocable  word  "  retreat "  has  been  uttered  by 
the  Commander  of  one  army,  and  the  other  army, 
which  had,  an  hour  previously,  felt  quite  at  the  end 
of  its  tether,  realises  its  victoiy.  The  experience  is 
not  easily  forgotten,  and,  therefore,  I  feel  able  to 
urge  with  all  the  more  conviction  that,  in  such  a 
moment  of  joyous  reaction  and  expansion,  troops  do 
not  respond  very  easily  to  orders  to  plunge  themselves 
again  under  the  showers  of  musketry  and  shrapnel. 

We  have  a  fairly  decent  room  here,  but  the  house  is 
situated  on  the  lowest-lying  part  of  Fanshan,  and  the 
roads  consist  of  alternative  stretches  of  filth-pools  and 
quagmires  of  sticky,  smelly  mud,  over  which  we  hop 
gingerly  on  stepping-stones  till  we  arrive  at  a  spot 
where,  in  some  previous  dynasty,  one  of  these  aids  to 
progression  has  been  removed.  Then  it  becomes  a  case 
of  skip,  jump,  flounder,  and  swear. 

Our  village  is  plumped  down  in  the  middle  of  a  vast 
plain  covered,  up  to  within  a  yard  of  its  walls,  by  mag- 
nificent crops.  Even  the  very  housetops  are  hidden 
under  the  insinuating  grip  of  luxuriant  cucumber  and 
pumpkin  plants,  and  bring  forth  an  opulent  harvest  of 
green  and  golden  gourds.  In  the  courtyards  the  sun- 
flower is  the  Chinaman's  favourite.  Here  it  grows  to 
a  height  of  fourteen  feet,  and  often  bears  a  blossom  two 
feet  in  diameter.  Englishmen  accustomed  to  violets 
and  roses  and  such  like  poetic  trifles  might  think  I  had 
over-estimated  the  size  of  my  sunflower,  but  fortunately 
I  am  not  an  uncorroborated  Marco  Polo,  but  am  backed 
up  by  those  who  have  measured.     Sometimes  the  plain 


«"W«« 


150  A  STATf  Officer's  Sobap-Book 

reminds  me.  especiaUy  by  its  flatness  and  clumps  of 
large  spreading  trees,  of  the  country  round  Lucknow ; 
only  the  crops  are  five  times  more  luxuriant,  the  houses 
ten  times  more  substantial  and  prosperous. 

Fenshan,  September  I5th,  1904. — I  have  had  a  great 
score  over  Hume,  Vincent,  and  Jardine.  In  the  after- 
noon they  all  rode  off  to  Liaoyang  to  buy  pears  and 

apples  whilst  I  remained  at  work.  At  3  p.m. came 

in  and  said  that  Colonel  Matsuishi,  Vice- Chief  of  the 
Greneral  Staff,  had  just  received  a  cable  ordering  him  to 
go  back  to  Tokio  to  take  up  an  important  post  at  the 
War  Office.  It  would  be  a  nice  little  attention,  th^e- 
fore,  he  thought,  if  I  would  offer  him  tea  and  cakes  that 
afternoon  to  celebrate  his  departure. 

"  That  is  all  very  well,"  I  said,  "  but  where  are  the 
cakes?"     "Do  not  trouble  yourself  on  that  score," 

said ,  "  I  charge  myself  with  the  details  of  the 

entertainment."  It  sounded  like  a  fairy  tale,  but 
I  wrote  over  to  Matsuishi,  who  very  cordially 
accepted. 

Shortly  afterwards  some  soldiers  appeared  and  deco- 
rated the  room,  and  then  Matsuishi  arrived  with 
Colonel  Kurita  and  one  or  two  other  German-speaking 
Staff  officera  Every  one  was  at  once  put  into  an  ex- 
ceedingly good  temper  by  the  appearance  of  a  light, 
well-baked  gingerbread  cake.  It  was  so  large  that  I 
thought  at  first  some  of  it  might  be  left  over  for  my 
brother  attaches,  but  very  soon  it  had  entirely  dis- 
appeared.     To    the    amazement    of    the    company, 

then  produced  a  bottle  of  gooseberry  champagne, 

which  turned  out  to  be  the  bottle  I  was  to  have  drunk 
to  celebrate  the  fall  of  Port  Arthur,  and  when  the  tea- 
cups had  been  filled  with  the  bubbling,  liquid  amber, 
I  proposed  the  Stonepine's  health  (Matsu,  a  pine  ;  Ishi, 


Sojourn  at  Fenshak  151 

a  stone).  This  was  my  first  attempt  at  public  speaking 
in  German,  and  it  went  abominably  badly.  After  the 
usual  things,  I  added :  "  I  hope  when  Colonel  Mat- 
suishi  returns  in  great  honour  and  glory  to  take  his 
seat  with  the  Headquarters  Staff  in  Tokio  he  will  not 
forget  his  humble  friends  here,  and  that  he  will,  on  some 
suitable  occasion,  explain  to  the  rulers  of  the  army  that, 
although  we  may  sometimes  be  a  little  troublesome,  we 
should  not  on  that  account  be  considered  either  wicked 
or  dangerous  {vielleicht  sind  wir  zuweilen  etwas 
miihamn^  aher  nicht  hose  oder  gefdrlich)^  Matsuishi 
sat  a  good  long  time,  and  then  made  an  excellent  little 
speech  in  Grerman  with  a  word  or  two  of  English  or 
French  thrown  in,  saying  how  hard  it  was  to  leave 
comrades  in  time  of  war,  but  that  duty  must  at  all 
costs  be  done. 

The  evenings  are  now  becoming  quite  cool  and 
fresh. 

Fbnshan,  September  I7th,  1904. — Yesterday  I  went 
to  call  on  Greneral  Oku,  the  Commander  of  the  Second 
Army.  Although  younger  than  Kuroki,  he  is  still  a 
Japanese  of  the  old  style.  Whereas  the  dominant 
expression  of  Kuroki's  face  is  that  of  dreamy  benevo- 
lence, the  chief  impression  conveyed  by  Oku's  features 
is  one  of  masterful  brightness  and  intelligence.  He  was 
dressed  in  English  khaki  serge,  and  wore  a  tufb  on  his 
chin^  French  fashion.  Last  year  he  represented  the 
Japanese  army  at  Delhi,  and  he  showed  great  interest 
in  hearing  about  my  life  in  Pretoria,  and  my  relations 
with  Lord  Kitchener  when  I  was  his  Chief  of  the  Staff. 
When  he  had  had  enough  of  me  he  sent  me  off  to  in- 
spect his  battlefield,  under  charge  of  a  selected  officer, 
and  I  had  an  interesting  day.  Colonel  Haldane  has  to 
deal  with  this  part  of  the  business,  and  I  will  only  note 


■i^P'^^w^^^""  ■•■.•"  m 


152  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

down  that  I  can  understand  now  why  Oyama  did  not 
make  better  progress  in  his  attempt  to  turn  the 
Russian  right. 

It  is  evident  that  after  rain  the  plain  to  the  west  of 
the  railway  must  have  been  practically  impassable  for 
artillery,  and  only  passable  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
by  cavalry  ^nd  infantry.  Therefore,  the  main  successes 
were  gained  by  Nodzu  and  the  Fourth  Army  on  the 
higher,  stonier  ground  to  the  east  of  the  railway. 

In  a  quarry  not  far  from  here  some  Japanese  soldiers 
had  found  a  horse  abandoned  by  the  Russians.  It  had 
fallen  down  from  a  considerable  height  and  was  quite 
insensible.  Its  body  was  not  yet  cold,  however,  and 
a  Chinaman  passing  by  declared  that,  if  there  was  any 
life  in  it  at  all,  he  would  make  it  get  up.  -  He  was 
allowed  to  make  his  experiment  and,  producing  his 
knife,  he  cut  something  out  of  the  comer  of  each  of 
the  animal's  eyes.  He  then  gave  the  horse  a  good 
kick,  and  it  immediately  stood  up.  The  Japanese 
Veterinary  Officer  says  that  the  Chinaman  has  not 
injured  any  vital  part  of  the  eye. 

Marshal  Oyama  and  General  Kodama  did  me  the 
high  honour  of  calling  on  me  to-day. 

Later  on  I  had  a  long  talk  with  an  officer  from  our 
own  Headquarters,  the  first  we  have  had  for  some  ten 
days  or  so.  He  has  given  me  a  complete  list  of  the 
Bussian  forces  opposed  to  us  during  the  battle  of 
Liaoyang,  with  which  I  shall  not  burden  these  notes. 
Indeed,  I  have  not  the  energy  which  would  enable  me 
to  go  over  all  the  old  ground  again,  but  some  of  his 
remarks  are  certainly  worth  entering. 

For  instance,  after  giving  me  the  detail  of  the 
enemy's  troops,  he  went  on  to  say :  "  There  is  no  doubt 
that  Kuropatkin  felt  great  confidence  in  this  big  army. 


'mm-^mmmm^mr'^^i    i  ipi^pi^— ^w— ^^^— ^^^^:^T;yn|^w^«^Hiy^yp>lp 


Sojourn  at  Fenshan  153 

and  was  most  anxious  to  bring  off  a  counter-attack  on 
a  large  scale.  But  once  he  had  committed  himself  to 
a  retreat  from  Anshantien,  Marshal  Oyama's  pursuit 
was  so  quick  and  so  persistent  that  he  had  no  time 
to  pull  himself  together  or  to  make  the  necessary 
redistributions. 

"So,  likewise,  were  we  too  quick  for  him  here,  in 
our  passage  of  the  river,  and  the  Bussian  defences  on 
Tsaofantun  and  Hsinlitun  were  only  commenced  as  we 
got  within  artillery  range  of  them.  Under  so  great  a 
pressure,  Kuropatkin  had  not  time  to  reflect  or  to 
judge  the  situation  calmly,  and  he  could  not  even  feel 
certain  of  the  whereabouts  of  our  main  force.  The 
wide  frontage  on  which  we  maintained  our  right  con- 
firmed him  in  his  incertitude,  until,  finally,  he  deter- 
mined that  safety  would  best  be  consulted  by  retiring 
without  committing  himself  to  his  contemplated  deci- 
sive counter-attack. 

"By  the  evening  of  September  3rd,  there  were 
only  5000  or,  at  the  most,  6000  Russians  in  Liaoyang 
itself.  You  can  realise  how  fortunate  we  were  that 
the  remainder  of  the  great  army  was  for  the  most  part 
engaged  in  falling  back  on  Mukden  instead  of  in  press- 
ing us  back  upon  our  bridges. 

"  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fukuda  has  told  you,  in  terms 
perhaps  unduly  sarcastic,  that  the  First  Army  could 
make  no  use  of  their  cavalry.*  It  was  the  same  with 
the  cavalry  on  the  south  side  of  the  Taitsuho.  Major- 
General  Akiyama  commanded  the  mixed  Brigade  of 
Cavaby,  but  although  he  was  supported  by  field-guns, 

*  lieutenant-Colonel  Fukuda,  speaking  of  the  action  of  Septem- 
ber did,  had  said :  '^  Even  at  a  supreme  moment  such  as  this  there 
was,  however,  one  group  of  men  who  were  idle.  This  was  the 
cavalry.  So  they  were  employed  to  go  back  to  the  river  and  cook 
food  for  their  companions  of  the  infantry." 


154  A  Staff  Officee's  Scrap-Book 

machine-guns,  and  infantry,  he  could  accomplish 
nothing  against  the  right  of  the  Russian  Army.  The 
Cavahy  Brigade  in  question  had  two  men  wounded. 
As  you  know,  we  were  very  nervous  about  our  right 
flank  during  the  fighting  on  this  side  of  the  river ; 
not  only  from  Orloff  at  the  Yentai  coal-mines,  but  also 
from  a  point  a  mile  or  two  further  to  the  east.  A 
convenient  valley  runs  thence  by  which  an  enterprising 
Russian  cavalry  commander  might  have  made  a  dash 
right  down  upon  the  Swallow's  Nest  Hill  and  the 
pontoon  bridges.  Naturally  we  had  done  what  we 
could  to  provide  against  such  an  enterprise,  and  the 
hills  to  the  north  of  the  SwalloVs  Nest  hill  were 
picqueted  with  two  battalions  of  Kobi,  but  these 
were  far  too  weak  to  cover  the  whole  of  the  groimd 
eflfectively.  We  were  rendered  specially  uneasy  by 
the  knowledge  that,  although  Kuropatkin  might  over- 
estimate our  strength,  the  commanders  in  immediate 
contact  with  us  must  have  been  aware  of  our  weak- 
ness. For  the  passage  of  the  river  by  the  Twelfth 
Division  was  watched  by  small  parties  of  Russian 
cavalry,  who  fell  back  without  firing  a  shot.  The 
infantry  then  expelled  them  altogether  merely  by 
advancing,  and  so  the  two  battalions  of  Kobi  occupied 
the  hills  without  any  trouble  or  skirmishing." 

Putting  together  the  map  and  the  foregoing  state- 
ment, British  officers  will  understand  better  than  by 
any  long-winded  treatise  how  entirely  different  are  the 
methods  of  the  Cossack  from  those  of  the  Afridi  or 
the  Boer. 

The  Japanese  are,  as  I  had  already  more  than 
surmised,  not  happy  about  the  general  results  of  the 
battle.     My  visitor  went  on  to  say  : 

''  Until  mid-day  on  August  28  th,  when,  at  Boshisan, 


Sojourn  at  Fenshan  155 

we  received  orders  telling  us  to  cross  the  river  earlier, 
and  in  less  force,  than  we  had  originally  intended  to  cross 
it,  the  operations  of  the  First  Army  had  been  crowned 
with  complete  success.  It  will  ever  be  our  greatest 
pride  to  recall  the  achievement  of  Kigoshi's  Brigade  of 
the  Twelfth  Division  when  they  scaled  the  precipitous 
ridge  of  Kosarei  on  the  night  of  August  25th-26th. 
Some  of  the  cliffs  were  so  sheer  that  the  soldiei*s  had 
to  bend  down,  like  boys  playing  leap-frog,  for  quite  a 
long  time,  whilst  the  remainder  of  their  companions 
made  use  of  their  backs  as  stepping-stones.  All  the 
soldiers  laughed  at  such  an  arrangement  and  said  that 
Marshal  Kuroki  had  made  his  army  first  like  ducks  to 
cross  rivers,  and  now  he  was  turning  them  into  ladders 
to  scale  mountains.  But  towards  the  end  of  the  con- 
tinuous battles  which  ensued,  these  same  merry  men 
fell  asleep  in  the  midst  of  the  heaviest  fire,  and  when 
the  enemy  grew  very  close  indeed  their  officers  had  to 
go  round  and  shake  them  violently  before  they  could 
be  awakened.  And  now,  having  struggled  to  the 
very  last  stage,  overcoming  difficulties  and  hardships, 
we  have  failed  in  co-operating  as  we  should  have  done 
with  the  other  two  armies,  at  which  we  feel  much 
ashamed. 

"  Nevertheless,  it  is  wiser,  perhaps,  to  remember 
that  things  might  have  turned  out  even  worse  than 
has  proved  actually  to  be  the  case.  At  any  rate,  we 
deceived  Kuropatkin  as  to  our  strength,  partly  by 
our  vride  extensions,  partly  because  we  assumed  the 
strongest  possible  offensive,  although  we  were  so 
desperately  weak.  But  the  game  wm  dangerous. 
The  more  we  bluffed  the  worse  our  beating  would 
have  been  had  Kuropatkin's  eyes  been  opened  instead 
of  remaining,  os  they  did,  tightly  shut ;  and  this  is 


156  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

what  we  may  put  on  the  other  side  of  the  balance 
when  we  feel  too  much  ashamed  at  our  failure. 

"  Perhaps  Heaven  was,  after  all,  bestowing  upon 
us  a  special  blessing  just  when  we  were  most  inclined 
to  be  downcast.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  31st,  the  1st 
and  the  2nd,  were  the  days  when  above  all  others  in 
my  life  my  dinner  had  least  savour." 

Fbnshan,  September  19th,  1904. — It  has  suddenly 
become  as  cold  as  an  English  mid  October.  I  went 
into  Liaoyang  to-day  at  1.30  p.m.  to  feast  with  the 
Marquis  Oyama  at  3  p.m.  The  feast  proved  historic, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  all  the 
army  commanders  had  met  since  the  outbreak  of  the 
war.  At  one  moment  Oyama,  Kuroki,  Oku,  and 
Nodzu  were  in  a  little  group  all  by  themselves. 
General  Nodzu  was  of  a  frank  and  genial  appearance. 
General  Oku  looked  keen  and  forcible. 

The  three  Imperial  Princes — Kanin,  Kuni,  and 
Nashimoto — ^were  also  present.  Prince  Kanin  is 
slight  and  very  handsome.  He  looks  every  inch  the 
beau  sahreur. 

One  and  all  they  were  most  friendly.  Every  one  I 
have  spoken  to  this  afternoon  has  apologised  for  our 
hardships  and  want  of  food.  There  is  no  occasion.  We 
are  stout  and  well-liking  and  I  trust  do  credit  to  our 
rice.  I  think,  too,  that  every  keen  soldier  would 
prefer  to  be  credited  with  a  perfect  indifference  to 
hardships.  What  we  do  appreciate  is  military 
ca/rna/raderie  and  the  friendship  of  our  hosts.  Marquis 
Oyama  told  me,  in  French,  that  General  Kodama  was 
not  present  at  the  feast  because  he  had  gone  down 
to  Port  Arthur  to  try  and  expedite  matters. 

When  I  came  back  I  found  a  very  nice  letter  await- 
ing me  from  General  Teraoutsi,  the  War  Minister  at 


SojouiiN  AT  Fenbhan  157 

Tokio,  in  which  he  also  spoke  feelingly  about  hard- 
shipe  and  hunger.    I  must  reassure  him  on  this  point 

Fenshan,  September  22nd,  1904. — ^Yesterday  I 
concocted  an  answer  to  General  Teraoutsi,  in  which  I 
fiilly  opened  my  heart  to  him.  No  one  can  censor  a 
letter  to  the  War  Minister,  I  should  think. 

To-day  I  have  been  to  call  on  General  Nodzu, 
conunanding  the  Fourth  Army.  He  has  taken  up  his 
quarters  in  a  house  standing  in  a  pretty  Chinese 
garden  belonging  to  one  of  the  wealthiest  residents 
of  Liaoyang.  The  general  received  me  most  kindly. 
Champagne  and  cigars  were  forthcoming  to  season 
our  short  conversation,  after  which  I  was  packed 
off  with  a  staff  officer  to  inspect  the  scene  of  the 
triumph  of  his  army.  I  will  excuse  myself  from 
narrating  a  story  which  does  not  fall  within  my  own 
legitimate  sphere  of  observation.  It  is  difficult  to 
understand  how  troops  could  have  been  driven  out  of 
such  positions  as  those  held  here  by  the  Russians, 
except  by  pre-supposing  a  great  superiority  of 
numbers  which  the  Japanese  did  not  possess.  The 
redoubt  and  trenches  were  immensely  strong,  except 
that  they  all  lacked  head-cover,  and  without  head- 
cover  troops  are  apt  to  crouch  down  and  fire  at 
random.  Indeed,  I  saw  in  several  of  the  redoubts  to 
the  south  of  Liaoyang  marks  of  where  the  muzzles  of 
the  rifles  seemed  to  have  been  resting  against  the 
earthen  parapet,  thus  lending  some  colour  to  the 
theory  that  at  once  time  in  the  action  the  defenders 
had  been  shooting  high. 

We  were  told  how  in  one  assault  about  twenty 
Japanese  got  into  a  redoubt  and  were  cut  off  there. 
The  Bussians  in  the  redoubt  bandaged  up  their 
wounds  and  sent  them  all  back  again* 


158  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

After  my  study  of  the  ground  I  went  to  have  tea  in 
Liaoyang  with  a  good  missionary  and  his  lady,  Presby- 
terians both.  Hume,  Jardine,  and  Vincent  had  also 
been  favoured  with  invitations.  The  missionary  was 
unadulterated  Scotch,  and  his  wife  was  a  Scots-Irish 
lady.  We  all  enjoyed  ourselves  almost  to  excess.  It 
was  an  exciting  moment  when  we  found  ourselves 
seated  at  a  table  spread  with  snowy  linen  and  groan- 
ing to  be  relieved  of  its  weight  of  scones  and  of  sponge 
cakes.  Hume  and  Jardine  fairly  astonished  this  table, 
Vincent  and  I  did  our  modest  best. 

Our  hosts  told  us  many  interesting  things  about 
the  Chinese,  who  are  their  pupils,  patients,  and  friends, 
and  also  about  the  Bussian  occupation. 

The  Chinese  were  at  first  genuinely  glad  the  Japa- 
nese had  supplanted  the  Russians,  as  the  former  had 
won  the  highest  reputation  for  themselves  throughout 
Northern  China  by  their  admirable  discipline  and 
general  behaviour  during  the  Boxer  troubles.  Since 
their  arrival,  however,  the  Japanese  have  been  looting 
chickens,  and  the  Chinamen  have  already  changed 
their  minds,  and  sadly  quote  one  of  their  own  proverbs 
to  the  effect  that  "  The  grandmother  has  left  us  but 
grandpapa  has  come  in  her  place.''  The  missionaries 
themselves  seemed  to  have  liked  the  Bussians  very 
welL  Up  to  the  very  last  the  latter  had  been 
absolutely  optimistic.  They  were  always  ready  to 
own  up  that  their  intelligence  was  bad,  and  that  they 
knew  very  little  about  the  Japanese  movements ;  but 
they  said  that  did  not  matter.  The  missionaries  paid 
a  handsome  tribute  to  the  behaviour  of  the  men  in 
Liaoyang. 

Fenshan,  September  28thy  1904. — We  are  becoming 
luxurious  and  semi-civilised  now  that  we  have  got  on 


Sojourn  at  Fbnshan  159 

to  the  railway  line*  The  Headquarters  have  been 
exceptionallj  hospitable  and  kind  this  last  week, 
during  which  I  have  been  busy  writing  reports. 

A  member  of  the  Staff  came  to  see  me  to-day.  He 
gave  me  a  number  of  details  about  the  Manjuyama 
fighting,  and  explained  the  artillery  firing  we  occasion- 
ally hear  to  the  north  of  us,  by  saying  that  there  are 
two  Kussian  Divisions  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Hunho 
who  indulge  in  occasional  skirmishes  with  Umezawa's 
brigade  and  with  our  cavalry  patrols. 

He  went  on  to  talk  about  Port  Arthur.  For  weeks  not 
one  word  has  been  uttered  on  the  subject.  He  said  that 
the  semi-permanent  forts,  one  on  each  side  of  the  main 
road  to  the  north  of  the  town,  had  now  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Japanese.  The  waterworks,  which  lie 
between  these  forts  and  the  main  forts,  have  also  been 
captured,  and  to-day  the  11 -inch  howitzers  brought 
over  from  the  coast  defences  of  Japan  begin  to  shell 
the  town.  These  howitzers  have  a  range  of  8000 
yards,  and  great  confidence  is  expressed  by  the 
Commander  of  the  Third  Army — General  Nogi — ^in 
the  efficacy  of  their  huge  shells. 

The  next  work  which  has  to  be  taken  is  a  permanent 
fort,  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  main  road  within 
4000  yards  of  the  town.  I  said,  '*  If  it  is  a  permanent 
fort,  its  capture  may  take  a  very  long  time."  and  I 
was  told,  "  Never  mind ;  it  will  be  taken  in  the 
shortest  time  possible,  even  if  our  men  have  to  tear  up 
the  masonry  ramparts  with  their  finger  nails." 

Fenshan,  September  29tA,  1904. — I  started  at  2  p.m. 
to  call  by  appointment  on  another  missionary  and  his 
wife,  and  I  found  a  big  Free,  not  a  wee  one,  who  is 
said  to  be  able  to  hold  his  own  even  with  a  red- beard 
Chinese  bandit.    He  has  been  here  many  years,  and  is 


160  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

a  considerable  power  in  the  land.  He  confirmed  what 
his  brethren  had  already  told  us  as  to  the  eagerness 
with  which  the  Chinese  had  been  looking  forward  to 
the  advent  of  the  Japanese.  The  prevalence  of  such 
a  sentiment  had  been  of  enormous  value  to  Oyama,  as 
it  had  inclined  the  inhabitants  of  the  theatre  of 
operations  to  conceal  everything  from  the  Russians. 
Silence,  impenetrable  as  a  prison  wall,  had  surrounded 
the  intelligence  bureau  of  Kuropatkin.  On  the  other 
hand,  as  an  example  of  the  perfect  information 
conveyed  to  Oyama,  I  was  told  that,  on  the  last  day  of 
the  battle,  the  Japanese  had  thrown  thirty  shells  into 
the  Yamen  which  had  been  the  Russian  Headquarters 
until  a  day  or  two  previously,  when,  luckily  for  them 
and  their  records,  they  had  changed.  Now,  however, 
that  grandpapa  had  actually  come,  the  poor  Chinese 
had  found  in  him  a  close  relative  of  the  Old  Man  of 
the  Sea.  The  main  reason  why  the  Chinese  were 
beginning  to  think  more  kindly  of  their  former  rulers 
was  that  the  Russians  were  extraordinarily  generous 
and  liberal,  whereas  the  Japanese  were  considered  by 
the  shopkeepers  to  be  stingy.  I  may  parenthetically 
remark  that  I  do  not  think  the  Japanese  are  at  all 
stingy.  Only  they  have  not  got  the  money ;  and 
although  this  does  not  prevent  a  European  from  spend- 
ing it,  our  allies  have  not  yet  caught  the  trick  of  con- 
juring with  credit. 

Another  reason  was  that  some  of  the  Japcmese  were 
inclined  to  bully.  I  heard  a  story  of  how  a  Japanese 
soldier  was  having  a  dispute  with  a  Chinese  shopkeeper 
who  kept  a  booth  in  the  main  street  of  Liaoyang. 
Suddenly  the  soldier  took  his  rifle  by  the  muzzle  and, 
with  its  butt,  in  one  fell  swoop  swept  to  the  ground 
the  whole  of  the  man's  lemonade,  cakes,  sweetmeats. 


SOJOUBN  AT  FbNSHAN  161 

tea,  stirabont,  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  There  were  any 
number  of  Japanese  about  who  saw  the  occurrence  and 
did  nothing,  so  my  informant  went  up  to  the  Chinese 
soldiersand  asked  them  what  they  were  posted  there  for  if 
they  were  not  to  protect  their  own  people.  Eventually 
he  shamed  four  of  them  into  coming  forward  to  arrest 
the  soldier.  Meanwhile  his  fit  of  passion  had  passed ;  he 
was  sorry  for  what  he  had  done,  and  some  of  his  fellows 
begged  him  off,  saying  it  was  a  dispute  about  change, 
and  that  the  Chinaman  had  not  given  him  back  his 
dues.  The  missionary,  as  was  befitting,  improved  the 
occasion  by  pointing  out  that  a  difference  of  opinion 
about  a  copper  was  no  sufficient  reason  for  destroying 
a  man's  whole  stock-in-trade,  and  that  the  worst  of 
permitting  rage  to  obtain  the  upper  hand  was  that  it 
caused  the  man  whom  it  has  mastered  to  lose  all  sense 
of  justice  or  of  proportion.  Here,  apparently,  the 
matter  ended. 

I  must  interpolate  here  another  commentary.  Excep- 
tions prove  the  rule,  and  I  believe  the  story  I  have 
related  is  very  much  of  an  exception.  The  Japanese 
soldiers  are  kindly  and  respectable  men  with,  as  I  have 
often  written  down,  a  very  high  sense  of  the  military 
obligation  to  be  upright,  and  chivalrous,  and  con- 
temptuous of  money.  If  this  story  had  concerned  a 
Japanese  shopkeeper  of  the  smaller  sort,  then  I  should 
not  have  been  so  much  surprised.  For  these  latter^ 
lacking  as  they  do  the  high  ideals  fostered  by  a  military 
training,  are  apt  to  be  overbearing  and  avaricious, 
qualities  which  may  prove  a  handicap  to  them  when  it 
comes  to  colonising  Korea. 

A  third  cause  of  the  disillusionment  of  the  Chinese 
is  the  number  of  reftigees  who  are  now  flocking  into 
Liaoyang  from  the  north,  where  all  their  villages  have 
n  L 


162  A  Staff  Offioeb's  Scrap-Book 

been  occupied  by  the  Japanese  troops.  Even  where  a 
portion  of  the  houses  have  been  reserved  for  the 
owners  the  Chinamen  still  insist  on  sending  away  all 
their  women.  It  is  not  that  the  soldiers  have  been 
guilty  of  misbehaviour,  or  even  of  imdue  familiarity, 
with  the  celestial  damosels.  It  is  simply  because  the 
code  of  modesty  of  the  Japanese  Army  differs  from 
that  which  is  accepted  alike  by  Chinese  and  Europeans. 
Modesty  assumes  different  guises  in  different  countries, 
as  well  as  in  different  ages,  and  here,  in  Manchuria, 
thousands  of  poor  women  are  leaving  their  homes 
and  crowding  into  the  towns  lest  they  should  have 
their  vision  blasted  by  seeing  a  little  Jap  soldier 
splashing  in  his  indispensable  bath.  When  it  is 
explained  to  a  Japanese  that  it  is  indecent  to  strip  off 
his  clothes  for  a  good  wash  in  the  presence  of  ladies 
he  is  genuinely  shocked  at  the  immodest  ideas  which, 
in  his  opinion,  must  underlie  such  a  frame  of  mind. 
Even  a  Japanese,  however,  cannot  altogether  escape 
from  the  same  troublesome  modesty,  and  he  is  out- 
raged beyond  words  if  he  sees,  for  instance,  a  European 
kissing  his  wife  good-bye  on  a  railway  platform. 

A  fourth  and  last  grievance  is  that,  with  winter 
coming  on,  the  Japanese  have  often  burnt  doors  and 
windows  of  Chinese  farms  in  order  to  cook  their 
rice. 

As  communications  improve,  the  men  will  get  a 
regular  allowance  of  friel  and  leave  doors  and  windows 
alone.  The  British,  at  any  rate,  can  throw  no  stones 
at  soldiers  who  borrow  furniture  to  boil  their  soup, 
and  I  have  yet  to  see  the  officer  whose  respect  for 
meum  and  tuvm  is  so  fanatical  that  he  will  let  his 
men  starve  with  hunger  and  cold  whilst  such  luxmies 
as  furniture  adorn  the  adjacent  dwellings. 


SOJOUEN  AT  FeNSHAN  163 

According  to  the  missionary  the  Russian  soldiers 
were  not  easily  demoralised — not,  at  least,  for  long. 
Their  temperament  was  too  mercurial.  For  a  day  or  so 
after  a  defeat  everv  one  would  be  sunk  in  doleful 
dumps.  Then  the  band  would  play,  and  by  night  there 
was  a  sound  of  revelry,  during  which  the  army  would 
forget  all  its  woes  and  become  once  more  invincible. 
There  is  something,  U>  me.  very  attractive  in  these 
traits  of  Bussian  character.  I  prefer  the  philosophy 
of  the  gay  Cavalier  to  that  of  the  sober  Bound- 
head.  Ever  since  Shakespeare  immortalised  the 
sentiment  special  allowances  have  been  made  for 
the  warrior,  and  often  have  grave  magistrates  on  the 
bench  remembered  that — 

**  A  soldier's  a  man 
And  life's  but  a  span 
So  let  the  soldier  drink." 

But,  after  all,  it  is  the  business  of  a  soldier  to  hold 
his  life  in  fief  for  his  country,  and  what  is  the  value  of 
war  unless  it  burns  up  and  destroys  the  corrupt  vices 
which  thrive  so  luxiuiantly  on  peace  and  civilisation  ? 
Where,  as  at  Liaoyang,  and,  in  a  lesser  degree,  at  Gape- 
town,  the  luxury  is  too  rank  to  be  completely  consumed, 
then  it  is  a  bad  look  out  for  the  army  itself,  as  well  as 
for  the  nation  which  produced  it  I 

It  was  during  the  brief  period  of  depression  follow- 
ing the  battle  of  the  Yalu  that  Kuropatkin  had  railed 
back  his  stores  to  Mukden,  but  when  the  reaction  had 
restored  confidence  the  stores  were  all  brought  down 
again  to  Liaoyang,  where  their  ashes  are  still  warm. 
The  foreigners  with  the  Bussian  army  considered 
Keller  and  Stakelberg  the  best  and  most  energetic 
commanders,  although  the  Bussians  themselves  used  to 


164  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgrap-Book 

class  them  rather  as  thoughtless  individuals  of  the  St. 
Petersburg  drawing-room  type. 

After  this  visit  we  went  over  to  our  former  hosts, 
where,  notwithstanding  our  outrageous  appetites,  we 
had  once  more  been  bidden  to  tea.  Here  we  met  three 
young  ladies  who  were  doctors.  At  least,  one  of  them 
was  a  full-blown  doctor  ;  the  other  two  were,  I  think, 
aspirants.  Of  course  they  were  all  Scotch — they  always 
are  in  these  impossible  places. 

The  principal  doctor  was  naturally  pretty,  but  as  a 
tribute  to  science  she  had  brushed  her  hair  flat  and 
smooth,  and  had  wound  it  into  a  hard  and  shining  ball 
at  the  back  of  her  head.  I  doubt  if  young  women  have 
any  right  to  do  this  sort  of  thing.  It  is  like  a  soldier 
who  malingers  by  cutting  off  his  trigger-finger  to  pre- 
vent himself  from  fighting.  But  now  I  am  positively 
wandering.  What  with  eating  scones  and  drinking 
cups  of  tea,  there  was  not  much  opportunity  for 
conversation. 

The  lady  doctor  had  been  stopped  once  by  twenty 
red  beards  armed  with  mausers,  but  when  she  explained 
that  she  was  on  her  way  to  visit  a  sick  woman  they  let 
her  pass,  not  only  unhurt  but  with  full  compliments. 
She  saw  them  stop  another  cart  inmiediately  after- 
wards. 

All  the  ladies  were  extremely  annoyed  with  the 
British  Consul  at  Newchwang,  who  had  ordered  unmar- 
ried missionaries  of  the  fair  sex  to  quit  Liaoyang  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war.  They  had  thus  missed  the 
excitement  and  the  opportunities  for  healing  the 
wounded,  and  I  shall  be  sorry  for  the  gentleman  if  ever* 
he  falls  into  their  hands. 

Fenshan,  September  SOth,  1904. — I  went  out  for  a 
walk  this  evening  with  Booski.    Coming  back  I  heard- 


Sojourn  at  Fbnshan  165 

the  band  of  the  Guards,  which  was  left  behind  during 
the  fighting  and  has  only  just  rejoined.  Booski,  too, 
pricked  up  her  ears  and  rushed  off  eagerly  towards  the 
sound  of  the  music.  Poor  little  doggie !  Those  strains 
must  have  reminded  her  of  the  Russian  bandnstand 
where,  I  am  sure,  she  had  been  accustomed  to  receive 
caresses  and  cakes  from  all  the  gay  company  there 
assembled.  But  instead  of  finding  anything  so  festive, 
she  and  her  master  were  greeted  by  rather  a  depressing 
spectacle  as  soon  as  they  turned  the  corner  leading  to 
the  Headquarters. 

Under  the  lee  of  a  ftmereal  climip  of  pines  which 
marked  a  Chinese  tomb,  were  collected  the  bandsmen 
of  the  Japanese  Guards.  The  sun  had  set,  leaving  a 
dull  red  stain  in  the  greenish  western  sky.  Candles  had 
been  lit  on  the  music  stands,  and  flickered  with  a  feeble 
gleam,  whilst  a  selection  of  Scotch  ballads  which  had 
suffered  a  Manchurian  change  in  time  and  key  and  tune 
resounded  dolefully  through  the  empty  streets.  There 
we  two  sat  on  a  Russian  camp  kitchen,  and  two  ragged 
Chinese  urchins  looked  on  from  the  other  side.  No  one 
else.  Any  number  of  Japanese  officers  and  men  were 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  us,  but  when  even  the 
musicians  do  not  comprehend  the  music  they  play  it  is 
too  much  to  expect  laymen  to  take  much  interest  in 
the  programme. 

Fenshan,  October  bthy  1904. — Still  busy  in  the 
morning  with  my  report  on  lines  of  communication. 
I  am  also  writing  on  the  pros  and  cons  of  artillery 
dispersion  or  concentration  as  evidenced  by  the  recent 
battles. 

It  has  been  quite  decidedly  cold  for  the  past  two 
days.  The  kaoliung  is  almost  all  cut  now  and  is 
arranged   in    giant  stooks,   which  are    being  carted 


166  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scrap-Book 

away  by  degrees.  These  stocks,  looking  like  lofty 
Indian  wigwams,  are  so  far  apart  that  they  would 
form  no  impediment  to  the  movement  of  cavahy,  and 
yet  they  give  good  concealment  to  anything  which  is 
over  half  a  mile  distant.  What  a  chance  they  would 
give  for  dashing  tactics  on  the  part  of  the  Bussians ! 
But  the  Cossacks,  a  sort  of  rude  yeomanry,  not  know- 
ing a  word  of  Chinese,  have  evidently  no  aptitude  for 
guerilla  warfare,  which  requires  either  high  training  or 
else  special  conditions  of  life. 

The  bean  crop  is  also  being  reaped.  The  result  has 
been  a  great  change  in  the  tactical  attributes  of  the 
terrain.  On  the  whole,  although  no  doubt  the 
kaoliung  was  occasionally  of  help  to  the  Russians,  I 
think  it  is  lucky  for  Kuroki  that  the  battle  of  Liaoyang 
was  got  over  before  the  country  become  so  denuded  as 
it  wUl  be  shortly. 

For  the  past  four  days  there  has  been  a  steady  flow 
of  troops  northwards.  Such  a  movement  seems  to 
portend  fighting,  as  it  would  otherwise  surely  be  a 
very  needless  aggravation  of  the  line  of  communication 
difficulties  to  remove  men  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Taitsuho,  where  they  can  so  easily  be  supplied 
not  only  by  rail  but  also  by  water?  Most  of  the 
soldiers  we  meet  are  clad  in  brand  new  blue  serges, 
but  they  have  now  no  numbers  on  their  shoulder- 
straps,  which  really  shows  a  great  want  of  considera- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Japanese  towards  military 
attaches. 

At  1  P.M.  I  went  off  with  Hume  to  an  entertainment 
given  by  the  Guards  Pioneer  Battalion  to  celebrate  the 
completion  of  a  big  bridge  they  have  been  making  over 
the  Liao  river.  It  is  an  invariable  Japanese  custom  to 
show  hospitality  on  such  occasions. 


Sojourn  at  Fbnshan  167 

I  am  very  glad  I  went.  Kuroki  was  there  with  a 
great  assemblage  of  officers,  also  the  Taotai  of  Liao< 
yang,  accompanied  by  some  of  his  officials.  For 
amusement  we  had  a  regatta  in  pontoons ;  the  different 
companies  competing  and  evoking  much  enthusiasm 
from  their  comrades  on:  the  banks.  Heavy  charges  of 
dynamite  were  also  exploded,  killing  nmnbers  of  fish- 
I  secured  a  large  basket  full  for  our  mess.  Then  came 
the  feast  which  had,  according  to  custom,  to  be  served 
on  the  bridge  itself.  It  adapted  itself  very  well  to 
our  picnic,  and  I  was  much  interested  to  see  an  enter- 
tainment given  by  a  Japanese  battalion  to  brother 
officera  in  other  regiments  and  corps.  The  Guards 
Pioneers  put  their  best  foot  forward,  and  all  the  officers 
from  Lieutenant-Colonel  to  latest  joined  were  as  busy 
as  bees.  It  was  evident  that  the  resources  of  the 
battalion  were  being  taxed  to  the  utmost.  All  sorts  of 
receptacles  were  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  cuisine — 
mess-tins,  canteens,  ammunition-boxes,  and  wash-hand 
basins. 

The  dishes  I  have  best  cause  to  remember  were 
dough  dumplings  of  millet-flour,  floating  in  a  pink 
syrup  something  like  raspberry  vinegar ;  balls  of 
minced-meat  fried  in  batter  ;  bags  of  apples  and  pears ; 
an  enormous  caldron  of  stewed  vegetables,  and  a 
wheelbarrow  piled  high  with  smoking  hot  rice.  A 
truck  laden  with  bottles  of  beer  perambulated  slowly 
across  the  bridge,  getting  sensibly  lighter  with  each 
yard  of  its  progress.  In  this  delicious  liquor  the 
healths  of  the  chief  engineer  and  of  the  officer 
commanding  the  pioneer  battalion  were  drunk  with 
much  enthusiasm. 

Every  one  was  friendly  and  familiar.  All  who  spoke 
to  me  were  astonished  to  see  by  my  dusty  boots  that 


168  A  Staff  Officbb's  Sobap-Book 

I  had  walked.  In  spite  of  the  marching  powers  of 
their  own  infantry,  it  is  a  ceaseless  cause  of  wonder- 
ment to  the  Japanese  when  any  one  trudges  on  foot 
who  might  have  ridden  on  horseback.  In  this  respect 
they  resemble  the  ancient  Egyptians  who  were  so 
puzzled  when  they  saw  the  officers  of  the  Boman 
garrison  taking  their  constitutional  up  and  down  the 
ramparts  of  their  fort.  Junior  regimental  officers 
perforce  take  a  great  deal  of  exercise  and  keep  very 
hard  and  fit,  but  as  soon  as  a  man  gets  on  to  the  staff 
and  is  entitled  to  a  horse  he  will  not  walk  fifty  yards 
a  year  if  he  can  possibly  help  it.  I  have  only  met 
one  single  superior  officer  who  is  an  exception  to  this 
rule;  absolutely  only  one.  He  does  like  to  take 
walking  exercise  for  about  an  hour  a  day,  and  to  this 
eccentric  habit  of  his  I  owe  many  of  my  happiest  and 
most  profitable  moments.  Still,  even  he  would  never 
have  dreamed  of  walking  over  here.  For  although  I 
have  come  round  by  the  railway  bridge  and  have  only 
marched  some  four  or  five  miles  yet,  to  hear  my 
Japanese  friends  it  might  be  thought  I  had  covered 
myself  with  glory.  I  had  to  give  a  reason ;  to  have 
explained  that  I  walked  for  pleasure  would  have 
seemed  incredible,  and  so  I  replied  to  their  inquiries 
that  I  did  it  to  keep  myself  thoroughly  fit  for  the 
next  great  battle. 

The  First  Army  headquarters  are  not  the  men  to 
miss  a  feast,  and  one  of  them  told  me,  on  the  bridge, 
that  the  U-inch  howitzers  had  got  feirly  to  work 
at  Port  Arthur,  and  had  yesterday  succeeded  in 
knocking  down  the  staff  office  of  the  Russian  General 
in  chief  command.  A  counter-attack  made  against 
the  Japanese  left  last  night  by  one  battalion  was  easily 
repulsed,  as  well  as  a  similar  attempt  made  against 


SoJOUBN  AT  Fenshan  169 

the  right  by  half  a  Bussian  battalion.  Still,  the  mere 
fSeu^t  of  the  Bussians  making  counter-attacks  shows 
that  they  have  some  life  left  in  them.  Some  of  the 
officers  here  think  that,  as  Port  Arthmr  has  held  out 
for  so  much  longer  than  any  one  had  expected, 
Kuropatkin  will  very  likely  attack  us.  The  Bussians, 
they  say,  think  themselves  better  than  the  Japanese 
in  winter,  and  the  pressure  from  St.  Petersburg 
is  very  great.  I  wonder  if  this  is  true?  Of 
course,  if  the  St.  Petersburg  people  try  to  force 
Kuropatkin*s  hand,  Bussia  will  deserve  all  that  it 
will  get.  The  Japanese  are  now  entrenched  up  to 
their  chins.  Even  as  far  back  as  this  village,  gun- 
pits  and  trenches  have  been  dug  on  every  commanding 
site. 

Fenshan,  October  6th,  1904.  —  Sergeant  -  Major 
Sumino  has  told  the  interpreters  and  servants  to  pack 
all  the  attaches'  kits  into  boxes  so  that  they  can  be 
stored  for  some  time,  whilst  the  bare  necessaries  are 
to  be  put  into  one  small  bag.     Great  excitement,  but 

absolutely  denies  that  there  is  any  prospect  of  a 

move. 

Fenshan,  October  7th,  1904. still  denies  with 

oaths  that  there  is  any  idea  of  a  move  on  the  part  of 
any  one,  but  we  know  he  is  not  speaking  the  truth. 
Very  vexatious  ;  neither  my  new  boots  nor  my  warm 
coat  have  turned  up  in  time. 

9  P.M. has  just  been  in.  He  says  Head- 
quarters are  about  to  move  thirteen  miles  to  the  north. 
Would  I  not  prefer  to  stay  quietly  in  this  comfortable 
house  and  follow  on  afterwards  for  the  battle  ?  Head- 
quarters undertake  to  give  me  ample  warning.  He 
then  strongly  recommended  me  to  remain,  as  it  was 
very  doubtful  indeed,  he  said,  whether  accommoda- 


I     II,    I  ■■!  1^1  >  4  Hi  iinii  1^    I  i.mwjii      ■  .1 


170  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

tion  of  any  sort  would  be  forthcoming  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  new  headquarters ;  not  at  least  with- 
out a  little  time  for  making  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments. I  am  afraid  I  almost  lost  that  calm  which, 
emulating  the  Japanese  and  trying  to  live  up  to  their 
ideals,  I  have  usually  managed  to  preserve.  "  No !  " 
I  cried,  **  No  !  I  will  not  let  headquarters  out  of  my 
sight ;  not  for  the  sake  of  a  comfortable  house — not 
even  for  the  sake  of  an  Imperial  palace  1 "     So  he  flew 

off  to  consult  with and  ,  as  he  always  does 

in  these  emergencies. 

Fenshan,  October  8«A,  1904. — The  Headquarters 
march  north  to-day  and  we  follow  to-morrow.  I  only 
hope  we  are  not  going  to  miss  anything.  We  have 
no  idea  whether  we  are  going  to  see  a  Japanese 
advance  or  a  Kussian  attack.  A  cable  arrived  for  me 
from  England  to-day  saying  I  was  about  to  be  offered 
an  'important  command,"  but  nothing  can  be  so 
important  as  my  present  work.  I  am  reminded  of  my 
last  day  in  Fenghuangcheng.  The  whole  place  is 
empty;  only  a  few  reservists  are  left  in  Liaoyang, 
where  I  have  been  to  say  good-bye  to  the  hospitable 
missionaries  to  whom  we  British  attach^  owe  such 
delightful  tea-table  and  conversational  reminiscences. 
A  Japanese  army  disappears  in  one  night  as  quietly  as 
snow  in  a  thaw. 


T««r  '^^■■•»»»^"^r^  T    .  '^F— ^■^■^■^o^w 


J 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
THE   ARMIES   IN   CONTACT 

Taiyo,  October  9th,  1904. — Our  baggage  was  ordered 
to  start  at  9  a.m.,  so  to  keep  myself  warm  whilst  the 
carts  were  being  loaded,  I  went  for  a  farewell  prome- 
nade round  the  familiar  homesteads  of  Fenshan.  In 
the  middle  of  my  circuit  I  was  surprised  to  hear  the 
sound  of  brisk  rifle-fire  coming  from  the  direction  of 
Manjuyama.  I  feared  the  Cossacks  might  have 
worked  clean  round  Euroki's  right  flank,  and  as  we 
were  now  sJl  alone  in  the  village  I  thought  I  had 
better  get  back  to  my  horse  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  all 
emergencies.  When  I  told  an  officer  of  the  staff  who 
was  to  accompany  us,  he  laughed  and  explained  that 
the  Chinese  are  taking  advantage  of  the  pre-occupation 
of  the  Hussians  and  Japanese  to  run  a  little  show  on 
their  own.  Accordingly  the  troops  of  the  Taotai  of 
Liaoyang  have  chosen  this  moment  to  attack  a  band 
of  Redbeards,  who  are  showing  fight  in  the  valley 
between  Mountains  131  and  151.  I  must  deny  myself 
the  pleasure  of  being  present.  Imagine  Lord  Kitchener's 
feelings  if  he  opened  my  despatch  expecting  an  account 
of  one  of  the  decisive  battles  of  the  world  and  found 
instead  an  account  of  a  Chinese  scrinmiage  I 

After  marching  for  twelve  miles  to  the  north  we 
reached  this  place,  which  is  about  two  and  a  half  miles 


172  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

south  of  the  coal-mines.  The  sound  of  heavy  gun-fire 
is  coming  from  the  north-east. 

Taiyo  is  a  rambling  village  surrounded  by  the  broken 
ground  in  which  Orloff  permitted  his  troops  to  be 
caught  in  their  close  formations  on  September  2nd. 
The  owner  of  the  farmhouse  in  which  I  am  writing  has 
just  been  doing  some  mule  coping.  He  has  a  singular 
plan  for  testing  the  strength  of  the  mules  he  is  inclined 
to  buy.  Bopes  are  fastened  to  the  mule's  collar  and 
six  strong  coolies  hang  on  to  these  like  grim  death. 
The  animal  is  then  whipped  up,  and  if  it  can  overcome 
the  resistance  of  the  coolies  it  is  bought ;  if  not  it  is 
cast.  Sometimes  the  coolies  lose  their  footing  and  are 
dragged  through  the  mud  and  trampled  upon  by  the 
mules,  greatly  to  the  amusement  of  the  women  stand- 
ing in  the  doorways,  who  simply  shriek  with  laughter 
to  see  such  jolly  fun.  The  scene  I  have  described  may 
give  some  idea  of  the  perfect  indifference  with  which 
the  Chinese  continue  their  ordinary  avocations  at  the 
very  crisis  of  a  campaign,  even  at  the  headquarters  of 
one  of  the  opposing  forces. 

9  P.M. — I  got  a  message  an  hour  ago  from  head- 
quarters telling  me  that  if  I  cared  to  come  over  they 
would  be  very  glad  to  try  and  give  me  some  idea  of 
the  actual,  tactical  situation.  Needless  to  say  I  lost 
no  time,  and  one  of  my  kind  mentors,  resuming  func- 
tions too  long  in  abeyance,  gave  me  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  which,  if  it  does  not  tell  me  all  I  would  like 
to  know,  revesJs  to  me,  at  any  rate,  the  gaps  which 
have  occurred  in  my  knowledge  of  events  since  the 
battle  of  Lioayang. 

The  situation  is  of  extraordinary  interest. 
Although  I  had  heard  that  the  Quards,  Second  and 
Twelfth  Division,  stretched  east  and  west  in  a  line 


The  Armibs  in  Contact  173 

whose  right  rested  on  the  Yentai  coal  mines  and  whose 
left  reached  the  railway,  I  have  never  been  able  to 
hear  a  word  of  the  Umezawa  Brigade  since  they  fired 
the  last  shots  of  the  battle  of  Liaoyang  at  Sankwai- 
sekisan*  on  the  afternoon  of  September  5th.  It 
seems  that  three  days  later  Umezawa  marched  right 
away  sixteen  miles  eastwards  to  Pingtaitsu,  where  he 
has  been  covering  Penchiho  against  an  attack  from 
the  north.    {See  Map  XXIII. ). 

On  September  17th  an  advance  was  made  upon 
Pingtaitsu  by  a  Bussian  force  consisting  of  eight 
infantry  battalions,  eight  squadrons  of  cavalry,  and 
eight  guns.  The  attack  was  delivered  so  half- 
heartedly that  it  was  regarded  as  nothing  more  serious 
than  a  reconnaissance  in  force,  but  still  it  aroused 
Kuroki's  anxiety,  as  he  could  not  but  recognise  that 
Umezawa  was  dangerously  isolated  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  mountainous  district  of  Manchuria.  Accordingly 
a  couple  of  battalions  were  sent  from  the  Twelfth 
Division  to  reinforce  him.  They  joined  at  Pingtaitsu 
on  September  19th,  but  hardly  had  they  marched  in 
when  the  Russians  seemed  not  only  to  increase  in 
numbers  immediately  in  front  of  that  place,  but  even 
began  to  work  round  to  the  east  of  it,  threatening  the 
important  strategical  point  Penchiho,  through  which 
came  all  the  munitions  and  supplies  for  the  brigade. 
Orders  were  therefore  sent  to  the  General  commanding 
the  old  line  of  communications  between  the  Yalu  and 
the  Twelfth  Division  to  push  up  any  troops  he  could 
lay  his  hands  on,  through  Chaotao,  so  as  to  strengthen 
the  Penchiho  garrison,  but  just  as  soon  as  each  pre- 
cautionary measure  was  taken  it  was  met  by  a  more 
than  corresponding  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the 

*  Chinese,  SankuaiBhihshan,  meaning  ''  Three  Great  Book  Hill.'' 


174  A  Staff  Officer's  Sobap-Book 

Biussians  facing  and  threatening  to  surround  Umezawa. 
Kuroki  had  now  done  all  he  could  do  on  the  basis  of 
his  own  resources.  He  therefore  begged  Oyama  to 
permit  the  Guards  on  his  left  to  be  relieved  by  some 
other  army  so  as  to  enable  him  to  concentrate  towards 
the  threatened  right  or  eastern  flank. 

Oyama  consented,  and  ordered  the  Fourth  Army  to 
take  up  the  ground  to  a  point  five  miles  east  of  the 
railway,  thus  releasing  the  Imperial  Quards.  Kuroki 
was  now  able  to  concentrate  the  Twelfth  Division,  and 
to  retire  it  on  Taiyo  village,  whilst  he  closed  in  the 
Second  Division  and  the  Quards.  Thus,  on  October  1st, 
the  Guards  and  Second  Division  formed  the  front 
line,  which  ran  north-east  and  south-west  for  some 
five  miles  along  the  branch  line  of  railway  with  its 
right  resting  on  the  coal  mines  (see  Map  XXXIII.). 
Three  miles  behind  the  right  of  this  line  was  the 
Twelfth  Division  in  reserve  at  Taiyo,  whilst  Umezawa 
was  detached  seventeen  miles  to  the  north-east  at 
Pingtaitsu. 

The  First  Army  had  now  shifted  the  bulk  of  its 
strength  considerably  nearer  to  the  eastern  screen 
of  mountains  behind  which  trouble  seemed  to  be 
brewing,  and  although,  in  mere  measurement,  Umezav^a 
appeared  to  be  as  much  out  of  touch  as  ever,  yet,  in 
reality,  it  was  not  so,  for  good  roads  ran  out  eastwards 
from  Taiyo  where  the  whole  of  the  Twelfth  Division 
lay  available  and  concentrated. 

On  October  5th,  the  day  I  had  met  General  Kuroki 
at  the  Pioneer  bridge-building  festival,  when  he  and  all 
his  staff  had  appeared  to  be  so  singularly  gay  and 
debonair^  reports  from  the  front  had  been  very  disturb- 
ing, pointing,  as  they  seemed  to  do,  to  some  serious 
movement  on  the  part  of  the  Russians.     So  much  was 


The  Armies  in  Ck)KTACT  175 

Kuroki  influenced  by  his  sense  of  an  impending  danger 
that  he  ordered  a  brigade  and  a  battery  to  move 
northwards  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  coal  mines 
and  occupy  an  important  mountain*  which  lay  six 
miles  distant  in  that  direction. 

Next  day  news  came  in  that  the  enemy  in  great 
strength  had  prevented  the  occupation  of  the  moun- 
tain. 

Until  now  strong  reconnaissances  had  never  been 
seriously  opposed,  and  the  denial  thus  given  by  the 
Russians  to  a  brigade  and  a  battery  was  considered  a 
very  significant  sign. 

Precisely  at  this  juncture  a  fortunate  accident  put 
the  whole  situation  beyond  the  region  of  reconnaissance 
and  smmise.  Neai*  the  Taling  Pass  (Map  XXXIY.)  a 
Russian  staff  officer  had  been  kUled  in  a  skirmish,  and 
on  his  body  were  fouud  detailed  orders  by  Kuropatkin 
to  Stakelberg  directing  him  to  turn  the  right  wing  of 
the  Japanese  and  then  to  march  on  Liaoyang ! 

The  night  of  the  6th-7th  was  therefore  spent  by  the 
headquarters  of  the  First  Army  in  anxious  deliberation, 
and  just  as  the  discussion  was  at  its  height  a 
trusted  spy  arrived  reporting  that  very  large  bodies  of 
the  enemy  had  crossed  the  Hunho  on  October  4th  and 
5th,  and  that  a  heavy  column  was  also  certainly 
advancing  firom  a  point,  Fushun,  twenty-five  miles  east 
of  Mukden,  directly  southwards. 

Kuroki's  mind  was  cleared  of  its  last  doubt.  The 
Russian  Qrand  Army  was  already  well  on  the  move. 
A  message  was  instantly  despatched  to  Oyama  ex- 
plaining the  situation,  and  asking  for  orders  especially 
with  regard  to  Umezawa.     The  answer  sent  back  by 

*  This    was    the    mountain    afterwards    called     Okasaki-yama. 
(Sketch  XXIV.) 


176  A  Staff  Officbb's  Sceap-Book 

Manohiirian  Anny  Headquarters  threw  some  doubt 
upon  the  reality  of  the  supposed  danger. 

But  General  Kuroki  did  not  feel  himself  absolved 
from  responsibility  by  the  scepticism  of  his  superiors. 
How  earnestly  should  British  generals  pray  that  they 
may  be  given  his  strength  of  mind  in  the  hour  of 
need. 

Umezawa  belonged  to  the  First  Army.     His  situa- 
tion was  hourly  becoming  more  critical,  and  Kuroki 
felt  bound  to  take  the  measures  he  considered  neces- 
sary for  his  support.    The  question  of  what  orders 
should  be  sent  him  cried  for  instant  decision.     For  one 
hour  the  problem  was  eagerly  debated.      From  the 
point  of  view  of  morcd  it  would  be  infinitely  preferable 
that  Umezawa  should  hold  on  until  the  Twelfth  Divi- 
sion should  march  out  from  Taiyo  and  join  hands  with 
his  left.     But  before  Kuroki  could  take  such  a  decisive 
step  as  to  march  off  the  Twelfth  Division  to  support 
Umezawa  he  must  have  some  guarantee  that  his  own 
left  would,  in  case  of  need,  be  similarly  supported  by 
the  other  armies.     At  present  these  armies  refused  to 
realise  the  danger.     Although  their  Headquarters  had 
crossed  the  Taitsuho  on  September  14th  and  15th,  a 
large  proportion  of  their  troops  were  still  far  behind  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Liaoyang.  If  their  inaction  were  to 
prolong  itself  for  another  twenty-four  hours,  then,  even 
with  the  best  will  in  the  world,  they  might  be  too  late 
to  support  the  main  body  of  the  First  Army,  weakened 
as  it  would  be  by  the  detachment  of  a  third  of  its 
force.     On  the  whole  the  risk  was  too  great  for  an 
army  commander  to  take  upon  himself  without  orders, 
and  it  was  decided  not  to  move  the  Twelfth  Division 
on  Pingtaitsu. 

The  next    point   for    consideration    was    whether 


■^•Wi^i^»''-^7W^^F"»"«i^ppwiW^'^^"^wr-^— --w-  «i«F>>i  •  "^mm  ■«•■  •   »ijK— 


The  Abmies  in  Contact  177 

Umezawa  could  podslbly  maintain  his  ground  unassisted 
for  two  or  three  days.  It  was  concluded  that  he  could 
not  do  so.  Orders  were  therefore  sent  to  him  to 
evacuate  Pingtaitsu  and  to  fall  back  upon  Penchiho. 
The  one  consoling  feature  to  set  against  the  disagree- 
able necessity  of  having  to  direct  a  man  like  Umezawa 
to  retire  is  that  the  whole  front  of  the  army  will  be 
influenced  by  this  preliminary  movement,  and  that  it 
will  cause  the  impending  battle  to  be  fought  six  or 
seven  miles  further  south  and  nearer  the  Japanese  base 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  the  casa  Thus 
Stakelberg  will  probably  be  inveigled  into  coming  a 
long  way  down  into  an  intricate  and  broken  terrain, 
where  his  heavy  field  artillery  and  numerous  cavalry 
will  lose  two-thirds  of  their  value  in  the  entanglements 
of  the  mountains. 

When  Umezawa  got  his  orders  he  was  in  contact 
with  a  superior  force  of  the  enemy,  who  were  already 
beginning  to  surround  him.  He  was  forced,  therefore, 
to  stand  fast  until  the  night  of  the  7th,  when  he  slipped 
away  most  cleverly  as  soon  as  it  got  dark,  and  got  clear 
without  having  a  shot  fired  at  him.  It  is  considered 
that  Umezawa  has  made  a  fine  opening  by  extricating 
himself  so  cheaply  from  the  slow  Bussians.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  morale  there  is  all  the  difference  in  the 
world  between  an  unmolested  retreat  and  a  retreat 
before  an  active  pursuit. 

I  have  been  given  the  full  orders  issued  by  Kuroki 
at  2  A.M.  on  the  7th,  but  I  shall  file  them  separately. 
Their  general  purport  is  to  the  effect  that  the  Twelfth 
Division  should  move  firom  Taiyo  eastwards  towards 
Penchiho  to  fall  upon  the  right  flank  of  the  two 
Bussian  divisions  who  are  threatening  it  and  to  hold 
out  a  hand  to  Umezawa,  who  is  endeavouring  with 
U  M 


178  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

very  meagre  resources  to  save  it.  The  Second  Division 
are  to  hold  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Yentai  coal 
mines,  and  the  Guards  are  to  move  round  their  rear  and 
to  concentrate  and  entrench  in  the  mountains  two  and 
a  half  miles  north-east  of  Taiyo.  The  position  of  the 
troops  is  still  generally  unchanged  since  this  order  was 
acted  upon.  At  least,  if  it  has  changed  I  am  not  to  be 
told  anything  more  at  present.  For  some  reason  or 
another  the  Guards  and  Second  Division  have 
changed  round.  We  now  have  the  Twelfth  Division 
on  the  right  stretching  out  as  fast  as  it  can  towards 
Penchiho.  The  Second  Division  are  on  the  left  a  mile 
or  two  north  of  the  Yentai  coal  mines,  and  the 
Guards  are  in  echelon  in  the  centre  a  short  distance 
in  rear  of  the  gap  between  our  right  and  left  wings. 
Oyama  fully  realises  the  situation  now,  and  on  the 
8th  instant  he  issued  the  simplest  battle  order  that 
has  ever  perhaps  been  issued  to  so  great  an  army. 
Here  it  is : 

**  The  armies  will  concentrate  their  forces  as  much  as 
possible  in  their  present  positions,  and  be  ready  to 
counter-attack  the  moment  an  opportunity  arrives." 

Taiyo,  October  10th,  1904. — At  6.15  a.m.  I  was 
standing  at  the  door  of  my  house  when  the  Second 
Cavalry  Brigade  under  Prince  Kanin  came  sounding 
down  the  street.  As  they  trotted  past  to  the  musical 
clank  of  steel  striking  steel  I  was  able  to  take  a  good 
look  at  them.  The  men  were  well  turned  out,  and 
the  horses  looked  in  excellent  fettle ;  they  have  not 
been  long  in  the  country.  A  few  of  the  officers  were 
conspicuously  well  mounted.  It  was  raining  hard,  and 
the  men  were  all  wearing  cloaks  and  aprons.  The 
carbine  was  slung  over  the  cloak,  and  they  had  a  rolled 
tente  d'ahri  behind  the  saddle.    Under  the  saddle  were 


1^  Armies  m  CoNtAC*  17^ 

two  l3iankets,  acfd  attached  to  it  t^ere  very  large 
eanvas  saddle-bags  and  a  canvas  bucket.  An  officer  of 
each  regiment  carried  a  standard.  I  hear  the  brigade 
is  equipped  with  machine  guiKs^  but  I  did  not  see  them. 
Prince  Eanin^  the  officer  whose  looks  I  admired  so 
much  at  Liaoyang,  is  their  leader. 

At  7  A.M.  I  attended  with  all  the  military  attach^ 
at  Headquarters  to  hear  Colonel  Hagino  deliver  « 
short  statement  on  the  general  situation*  His  discourse 
was  interesting,  not  only  to  us  but  to  several  junior 
Japanese  staff  officers  who  stood  with  us,  and  who  also 
wrote  down  the  words  of  wisdom  as  they  fell  from  the 
lips  of  the  Chief  of  the  Intelligence  Section*  I  cannot 
imagine  to  myself  an  officer  of  Colonel  Hagino's  status 
in  any  European  army  deigning  to  trouble  his  head 
about  a  party  of  foreigners ;  still  less  can  I  see  him 
dictating  to  them  a  careful  little  lecture  just  as  a  great 
battle  is  commencing.  We  Europeans  and  Americans 
may  not  be  able  to  pick  up  as  much  information  from 
irresponsible  Japanese  individuals  as  we  might  collect 
from  men  of  our  own  kidney  if  we  were  campaigning 
with  one  another's  troops,  but  I  am  certain,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  in  no  army  in  the  world  would  we 
receive  as  much  official  assistance  in  carrying  out  our 
work  as  we  now  do  with  Kuroki's  command. 

I  mark  this  passage  with  blue  pencil  and  turn  down 
the  leaf  so  that  I  may  know  where  to  find  an  antidote 
to  my  annoyance  if  ever  in  future  I  am  again  tempted 
to  rail  at  petty  restrictions  and  reticences.  My  out- 
burst of  gratitude  is,  it  is  only  fair  to  add,  not  entirely 
owing  to  Hagino's  lecture.  At  its  conclusion  I 
received  some  supplementary  explanation  of  the  situa- 
tion which  proved  intensely  interesting.  As  the 
informations  I  received  are  infinitely  more  valuable 


180  A  Staff  Offiobr's  Sorap-Book 

than  the  little  I  saw  myself,  I  will  write  them  dowii 
first  in  full  and  then,  if  I  have  time,  I  can  add  my  own 
observations. 

It  seems  that  the  play  is  rushing  swiftly  to  its 
climax.  The  Russians  are  pouring  down  from  the 
north,  not  only  straight  upon  us  here  at  Taiyo,  but 
also  on  our  comrades  to  the  right  hand  and  the  left  of 
us,  as  far  as  our  breathless  messengers  have  penetrated. 
Up  to  the  present  the  hostile  forces  have  not  joined 
battle  to  our  front,  but  the  fighting  may  begin  at  any 
moment,  and  so  close  to  us  are  the  Russians  that  last 
night  the  whole  of  the  First  Army  stood  to  its  arms  in 
attack  formations. 

Umezawa,  in  the  east,  is  so  far  bearing  the  brunt  of 
the  attack  and  seems  to  be  sorely  beset.  He  and  his 
brigade  would  probably  be  past  praying  for  had  the 
Russians  come  down  like  the  wolf  on  the  fold ;  had 
they  developed  even  a  touch  of  that  audacious,  head- 
long hunger  for  the  fight  which  has  so  often  been 
associated  with  successful  military  enterprise.  Every- 
thing is  vague  as  yet,  and  it  is  only  certain  that  on 
the  night  of  the  8th  Umezawa  was  in  desperate 
straits,  almost  quite  surrounded  by  Stakelberg  and 
Rennenkampf  in  greatly  superior  force,  and  that  he 
was  practically  at  their  mercy.  Had  Umezawa  gone 
under,  then  Penchiho  and  Chaotao  with  their  supplies 
would  also  have  gone  by  the  board,  and  Kuroki  himself 
might  have  been  forced  to  move  south-east  with  his 
whole  army  to  deny  the  Lentowan  ford  over  the 
Taitsuho  to  an  enemy  threatening  Liaoyang. 

Since  his  retreat  from  Pingtaitsu,  Umezawa  has 
been  holding  a  lofty  range  of  mountains  from  the 
Tumenling  (pass)  on  the  west,  via  the  Taling  (pass), 
to  Penchiho  on  the  east  {see  Map  XXXIV.),  where  his 


«WK^««^WiBP8B5r3^»::.'W5^,.l    '    ,_,J'JJ.,   -U. HJUJK^^I  i  in.    -JiU 


-e:~ 


«w 


Thb  Abmies  in  Contact  181 

right  is  well  thrown  back  lapping  round  and  shielding 
the  town.  He  is,  of  course,  far  too  weak  for  the  task, 
but  he  must  just  do  his  best  until  the  Twelfth  Division 
can  push  far  enough  east  to  support  him  against  the 
large  body  of  infantry  and  cavalry  who,  under  the 
orders  of  Stakelberg,  are  trying  to  turn  his  right. 
These  troops  have  been  more  or  less  in  touch  with 
Umezawa  since  the  7th,  but  fortunately  the  Eussians 
only  commenced  their  attack  at  dawn  yesterday,  and 
then  only  at  Penchiho,  into  which  place  Umezawa 
had  just  managed,  on  the  evening  of  the  8th,  to  throw 
a  reinforcement  of  two  battalions  and  two  guns.  Still 
the  position  of  affairs  there  must  be  very  critical,  if  not 
desperate,  for  this  morning  the  bad  news  has  come  to 
hand  that  during  yesterday  afternoon  and  evening  two 
important  outposts  to  the  Penchiho  defence  line  were 
attacked  by  the  Bussians  and  carried  by  assault. 

Even  more  threatening  is  the  news  about  Bennen- 
kampf,  who  has  crossed  the  Taitsuho  at  Weining  and 
moved  westwards  down  its  left  bank,  cutting  the  com- 
munications between  Penchiho  and  Chaotao  and 
threatening  the  latter  important  dep6t,  which  is  only 
held  by  some  two  or  three  hundred  men.  The  eastern 
line  of  communications  is  not  immediately  vital  to  the 
Manchurian  Army,  as  a  whole,  but  Kuroki  cannot 
afford  to  lose  it,  and  he  has  played  his  last  card  by 
despatching  the  Cavalry  Brigade  I  have  just  seen  to 
press  on  with  all  possible  speed  to  Chaotao. 

Evidently  General  Kuroki  and  his  Staff  are  them- 
selves somewhat  vague  about  the  progress  of  events 
opposite  their  right  wing.  For  one  thing,  they  have 
no  maps,  as  the  captured  Bussian  maps  upon  which 
they  have  been  mainly  dependent  until  now  do  not 
show  the  Pingtaitsu  or  Penchiho  country.     As  one  of 


182  A  Staff  Officbr's  Scrap-Book 

the  staff  ingenuously  declared:  ^'Our  ideas  of  the 
theatre  of  war  to  the  north  of  Liaoyang  were  bounded 
on  the  east  by  the  Yentai  coal  mines ;  now  we  begin 
too  late  to  realise  that  on  our  right  hand  there  extends 
a  very  continent  of  mountains  !  " 

Henceforth  the  British  War  Office  will  be  able 
perhaps  to  pluck  up  spirit  to  defend  itself  with  more 
energy  when  it  is  attacked  by  critics  who,  without  too 
seriously  weighing  the  financial  and  political  difficul- 
ties, have  exaggerated  its  responsibility  for  the  want 
of  good  maps  which  made  itself  felt  during  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  South  African  War. 

Having  wiitten  so  much  I  am  interrupted  by  the 
loud,  booming,  double  report  of  the  Bussian  guns :  one, 
two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven,  eight.  Yes ;  certainly 
the  Bussian  guns,  and  not  so  far  off  either. 

Two  or  three  miles  north  of  Taiyo  I  arrived  at  a  big 
conical  hill  due  east  of  the  coal  mines  and  just  above 
them  {see  Sketch  XXXIV.).  I  thought  I  had  found  a 
splendid  lookout  post  and  began  to  climb  up,  leading 
my  horse  by  the  bridle,  but  on  the  summit  were  Greneral 
Nishi  and  the  Staff  of  the  Second  Division,  who  pre- 
ferred my  room  to  my  company.  It  seemed  a  pity  to 
retire,  and  so  I  advanced  about  three  or  four  himdred 
yards  beyond  them  to  another  likely  looking  hill  over- 
looking a  brigade  of  the  Second  Division  artillery  who 
had  dug  themselves  in  very  snugly ;  luckily  for  them, 
for  the  shells  were  bursting  over  the  gun-pits  in  strings 
with  a  succession  of  loud  reports,  raising  clouds  of 
dust  about  the  batteries,  but  doing  no  harm  to  the 
men  who  lay  flat  under  cover  and  attempted  no  reply. 
Five  miles  to  the  north  the  enemy  were  advancing. 
As  &r  as  I  could  see^  namely,  from  Sankwaisekisan,  a 
little  to  the  west  of  north,  to  Shotatsuko  to  the  north- 


The  Armies  m  Contact  18S^ 

eaat,  the  ground  was  alive  with  Bussians  {see  Sketch 
XXIY.).  No  kaoliung  here ;  no  concealment,  and 
there  stood  the  Bussians  in  solid  masses — cavalry, 
infantry,  and  guns-formations  such  as  I  have  not  seen 
in  recent  years  except  upon  the  parade-ground. 

The  biggest  mass,  presumably  a  brigade,  was  below 
the  big  hill  just  due  north  of  Sankashi,  and  must  have 
amounted  to  5000  or  6000  men  in  one  solid  block. 
Had  the  Japanese  only  possessed  one  or  two  of  our 
South  African  Long  Toms  they  might  have  had  some 
fine  shooting  into  the  brown.  The  movement  of  such 
columns  cannot  be  rapid,  but  it  need  not  necessarily 
be  so  slow  as  that  of  the  enemy,  who  alternated  long 
halts  with  very  short  advances. 

Meanwhile,  I  had  leisure  to  look  at  the  country.  I 
found  myself  sitting  on  a  detached  conical  hill,  about 
200  feet  high.  It  formed  one  of  the  scattered  western 
outposts  of  the  continent  of  mountains  which  stretched 
eastwards  continuously,  ridge  upon  ridge,  and  peak 
upon  peak,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  This  moun- 
tain region  has  a  sharp,  distinct  edge  or  ending,  just 
as  an  ice  floe  ends  sharply  and  decisively  where  it  meets 
the  sea,  and  to  continue  the  parallel,  just  as  the  action 
of  the  water  detaches  many  bergs  which  float  by  the 
himdred  in  the  close  vicinity  to  the  pack  and  become 
rarer,  and  yet  more  rare  with  every  mile's  distance,  so 
here  the  isolated  hills  become  fewer  and  more  scattered 
as  the  eye  travels  westwards,  until,  at  last,  out  beyond 
the  Fourth  Army,  the  spacious  plain  runs  out  to  the 
horizon  in  monotonous  flatness. 

Two  of  our  divisions — the  Twelfth  and  the  Guards — 
and  two  of  our  brigades,  Umezawa's  and  Prince 
Kanin's  Cavalry,  are  swallowed  up  in  the  Switzerland  of 
the  Far  East,  which  lies  to  the  right.     The  Second 


ip«^w^»p^^^^»^T^ipipii^»^^^""-T-''^^  I   I  IIP 


184  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Division  ha43  half  of  its  right  brigade  entrenched 
on  Daisan,*'  on  the  very  edge  of  the  main  mass  of 
mountains.  Daisan  is  due  east  of  me,  two  miles  distant^ 
and  it  is  about  600  feet  high.  The  other  regiment  of 
this  brigade  (Matsunaga's)  is  at  my  feet  in  Kento 
village.  The  brigade  of  the  renowned  Okasaki  is  alto- 
gether clear  of  the  mountains,  and  is  entrenched  on  the 
bare  plough  of  the  plains,  about  one  mile  to  the  north 
of  where  I  am  seated,  with  its  left  (forming  the  extreme 
left  of  the  First  Army),  resting  on  some  low  hills 
some  two  and  a  half  miles  north-west  of  me.  (See 
Map  XXXIII.) 

At  mid-day  the  Bussian  artillery  became  silent.  It 
had  not  been  able  to  draw  the  Japanese  guns  into 
a  duel,  and  I  do  not  think  it  had  done  much  harm. 
By  1  A.M.  the  Bussian  infantry  columns  along  the 
Shotatsuko-Sankashi  valley  had  apparently  got  their 
correct  intervals,  and  as  heavy  storm-clouds  spread 
athwart  the  whole  horizon  ere  they  discharge  their 
burden  of  lightning  and  of  hail,  so  these  dark  masses 
began  a  stately  deployment  into  long  continuous  lines, 
which  made  my  heart  sink  with  an  impression  of  re- 
sistless strength  and  of  a  tremendous  impending  blow. 
This,  too,  although  I  tried  to  reassure  myself  by 
remembering  how  the  eyes  of  an  old  Boer  would  have 
danced  with  joy  to  see  his  enemy  advancing  against 
him  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  although  I  knew  that 
the  formation  was  still  far  too  solid  to  run  the  gauntlet 
of  the  Japanese  artillery  without  being  shattered  in 
the  attempt. 

But  now  the  long  lines  halted.  Strange  indecision ! 
They  remained  motionless  ten  minutes;  twenty 
minutes ;  and  then  I  realised  that  they  were  entrench- 

*  Chinese,  Tashan  or  great  matin  tain. 


The  Abmiss  in  Contact  185 

ing,  out  of  range  of  the  Japanese!  In  that  one 
nioment  all  anxiety  passed  away.  I  cannot  explain 
the  sensation  or  instinct  which  possesses  me,  but  there 
it  is,  and  I  feel  possessed  of  great  calmness,  and  the 
full  conviction  that  the  Russians  have  by  their  failure 
to  come  on,  parted  for  ever  with  that  moral  ascendency 
which  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  asseta  of  an  attack. 

At  2.45  an  officer's  patrol  which  had  been  sent  out 
by  Okasaki  to  get  hold  of  a  low  ridge  east  of  Hanla- 
sanshi,*'  about  three  miles  to  the  north  of  us  {see  "  V  " 
Sketch  XXIV.),  was  just  anticipated  by  a  superior 
force  of  Russians  who,  when  they  topped  the  crest 
line,  found  themselves  within  fifty  yards  of  the 
retreating  Japanese.  In  their  eagerness,  the  Rus- 
sians stood  up  on  the  ridge  and  fired  heavily  on 
the  retreating  party  of  some  twenty  men.  These 
took  to  their  heels  and  made  record  time  getting 
to  some  cover  500  or  600  yards  in  rear — all  except 
one  man.  When  I  first  noticed  this  individual 
he  was  walking  far  behind  his  comrades,  and  at 
about  100  yards  from  the  Russians.  I  thought  the 
poor  fellow  was  wounded,  and  kept  my  glasses  upon 
him  expecting  every  moment  to  see  him  drop.  Sud- 
denly he  did  drop ;  not  as  a  wounded  man  but  as  a 
particularly  lively  skirmisher,  behind  a  little  grassy 
rise  between  two  fields  which  gave  him  a  little  cover. 
Here  he  opened  fire,  gaily  taking  on  100  Russians 
at  200  yards  range.  After  a  minute  or  two  he  got 
up  again,  and  under  a  shower  of  bullets  which  threw 
up  dust  puffs  all  about  him,  quietly  sauntered  into  a 
small  plantation  some  100  yards  further  away,  where 
I  lost  sight  of  him.  No  one  was  hit ;  or,  at  any 
rate,  no  one  fell  during  the  skirmish. 

*  Chinese,  Panlashantsu. 


186  A  Staff  Offigeb's  Scrap-Book 

After  it  was  all  over  the  Japanese  guns  opened  at 
1500  yards  range  on  the  ridge  but  made  very  bad  prac- 
tice, both  range  and  Aise  being  too  short.  No  soldier 
of  any  experience  expects  anything,  even  in  a  small 
degree,  approximating  to  target  practice  accuracy  on 
the  battlefield.  In  1879,  the  92nd  Highlanders  were 
the  best  shooting  battalion  in  India,  and  yet  I  saw 
500  of  their  men  fire  three  or  four  rounds  each  at 
one  Afghan  straggler  clambering  but  slowly  up  a 
steep  mountain  at  400  yards  range  without  effect. 
StiU,  I  may  fi*ankly  confess  I  have  never  seen  any 
exhibition  of  marksmanship  quite  so  deplorable  as 
the  shooting  of  the  Russians  on  the  occasion  I  have  just 
described.  When  it  fell  dusk  I  returned  to  Taiyo  rather 
disappointed  at  having  seen  no  serious  fighting.  I  fear 
it  is  my  sin  to  love  the  noise  of  war,  I  do  not  quite 
know,  though  I  often  consider,  what  I  shall  say  when 
I  am  called  to  answer  for  it  at  the  long  account. 


CHAPTER  XXVm 
OKASAKI'S   DASHING  ASSAULT 

Taiyo,  October  lltA,  1904. — Guns  booming  and 
rifles  volleying  and  rattling  ever  since  the  first  grey 
streak  of  dawn.  Have  got  orders  that  I  am  tx)  par- 
ticipate with  the  others  in  a  lecture  Colonel  Hagino 
is  going  to  give  us  at  7  a.m.,  after  which  I  am  to 
separate  from  my  fiiends  and  to  accompany  Kuroki 
and  the  Headquarters  Staff  who  will  now  take  the 
field.  The  other  attaches  are  told  off  to  work  under 
the  orders  of  that  very  exclusive  body — the  Second 
Division  Headquarters. 

8  A.M.,  CodL  Mine  Hill. — ^Affcer  the  lecture  I  got  little 
Nakamura,  the  interpreter,  to  accompany  me  here^ 
where  I  have  found  the  Headquarters.  Kuroki  was 
seated  on  a  small  yellow  box  belonging  to  the  telephone 
section,  whose  terminal  station  is  within  ten  yards  of 
him.  On  his  other  side  was  a  bearer  section  with  its 
stretchers.  The  Commanders  of  the  Artillery  and 
Engineers,  Colonel  Hagino  of  the  Intelligence,  and 
Captain  Saigo,  the  Adjutant,  were  in  earnest  conversa- 
tion with  Kuroki,  and  no  other  officer  but  myself  was 
at  that  time  present  on  the  hilltop. 

The  great  man  got  up  and  shook  me  by  the  hand, 
saying,  "It  is  a  very  fine  day  "  ;  not  a  very  brilliant 
remark  perhaps,  but  interesting  from  its  very  common - 
placeness*      Many  men  would  have  aimed  at  saying 


188  A  Staff  Officer's  Sobap-Book 

something  adequate  to  the  momentous  occasion,  but 
about  Kuroki  there  is  not  even  a  suspicion  of  pose. 

I  said,  yes,  it  was  a  fine  day,  and  a  pity  so  many 
fine  fellows  should  have  to  die  when  the  world  looked 
so  beautiAil. 

He  replied,  "  To  die  in  battle  for  their  country  is 
good  fortune  either  for  Russians  or  Japanese ;  and  as 
to  the  fine  weather,  that  is  a  good  preparation  for 
either  life  or  death,  as  it  has  enabled  them  to  snatch 
a  little  repose  whilst  lying  out  on  the  open  fields  and 
mountains  all  night  under  arms." 

He  then  spoke  the  first  few  words  on  tactics  he 
has  ever  addressed  to  me.  He  said,  *^  Our  infantry 
will  not  advance  yet  awhile.  The  enemy  has  only 
fallen  back  a  short  distance  from  before  our  right  at 
Penchiho,  and  I  do  not  like  them  to  fall  back  any 
fui*ther  at  present.  Therefore  the  Second  Division 
and  the  Guards  must  not  alarm  them  for  their  com- 
munications by  a  premature  advance,  and  I  am  going 
to  let  the  Fourth  Army  get  into  full  swing  on  our 
left  before  we  begin  to  move.  The  enemy  has  made 
a  big  attempt  to  turn  our  right,  and  now  that  his  effort 
has  been  brought  to  a  standstill.  Marquis  Oyama  will 
perhaps  have  a  chance  of  turning  his  right  Now 
that  I  have  said  so  much,  you  as  a  General  will 
only  need  to  direct  your  glasses  occasionally  to  the 
westwards  and  you  will  be  able  to  discern  as  well  as 
I  can  when  we  should  make  our  start.  How  fast 
the  artillery  are  shooting ;  I  must  watch  them  more 
closely." 

Kuroki  then  sat  down  again  on  his  yellow  box,  and 
remained  quite  quiet  except  when  telephone  messages 
or  orderlies  arrived,  or  when  Hagino,  map  in  hand, 
consulted  with  him.    Then  all  the  officers  I  have 


OKASAKfs  Dashing  Assault  189 

named  squatted  down,  Indian  fashion,  in  a  tiny  circle, 
and  I  looked  the  other  way,  lest  any  secrets  were  being 
ventilated. 

It  is  now  8.25  A.M.,and  the  violence  of  the  cannonade 
surprises  me  even  after  my  Manjuyama  experiences. 
The  Japanese  batteries  are  in  the  same  position  as  yes- 
terday, all  except  one,  which  has  advanced  about 
1000  yards  during  the  night,  and  has  dug  itself 
deeply  out  of  danger's  way.  A  series  of  rafales  are 
bursting  lust  over  these  guns  ;  a  neat  and  curious 
8ight.  si  much  savage  noSe,  and  nothing  to  show  for 
it  but  the  sudden  mysterious  appearance  in  the  air 
over  the  Japanese  battery  of  a  little  white  balloon,  like 
the  soap  bubbles  filled  with  tobacco  smoke  a  kind  uncle 
used  to  blow  for  me  when  I  was  a  child.  Then  seven 
more  balloons  all  in  a  line  with  the  first,  and  so  it  goes 
on.  The  Japanese  artillery  is  being  held  under  to  a 
great  extent,  but  when  it  does  fire,  the  guns  are  laid 
on  Sanjoshisan,  and  the  hills  immediately  to  the  south 
of  it,  making  very  good  shooting  at  the  crest  lines, 
which  are  thickly  packed  with  Bussians.  Boom  I  and 
then  the  long  drawn  out  whirr  of  the  tortured  air  as 
the  projectile  speeds  on  to  its  objective,  until  at  last  a 
small  white  doud  alights  on  the  top  of  the  distant 
mountain.  It  is  still  too  misty  to  see  veiy  much  on 
the  plain. 

9.15  A.M. — ^The  mist  has  cleared.  I  see  about  a 
brigade  of  Russian  artillery  towards  the  bottom  of  the 
long  spur  which  runs  out  in  a  north-westerly  direction 
from  Sanjoshisan,  and  one  battery  is  firing  from  the 
north-east  of  Terayama.  That  is  to  say,  I  cannot  see 
the  guns — only  the  flashes  of  their  discharge.  But 
here,  oh,  splendid,  soul-inspiring  spectacle  !  Here 
comes  the  infantry  at  last.    Ave  Ccesar^  morituri  te 


190  A  Staff  Officer's  Sorap-Book 

scdutant!  Two  long  lines  of  infantry,  arms  sloped, 
bayonets  glistening,  marching  shoulder  to  shoulder  as 
if  at  a  St.  Petersburg  manoeuvre  instead  of  across  the 
Shotatsuko  valley,  whence  they  pass  into  tlte  low-lying 
fields  three  and  a  half  miles  to  our  front,  and  are  entirely 
lost  to  view.  Drums  are  beating,  no  doubt,  and  colours 
flying,  and  every  manin  that  mighty  array  feels  himself  a 
true  hero,  but  it  is  lucky  that  the  lines  are  still  just  a 
little  far  for  the  short-ranging  Japanese  guns,  and  that 
these  guns  are  already  pretty  weU  mastered  by  the 
Russian  artillery.  It  looks  as  if  the  Booskis  were 
coming  on  in  earnest,  and  if  that  is  so  we  shaU  have  a 
real  bloody  battle,  and  make  October  1 1th  for  evermore 
famous.  The  attackers  should  have  one  great  advan- 
tage, inasmuch  as  they  have  already  won  the  artillery 
fight.  The  Japanese  gunners  now,  10.15  A.M.,  are 
unable  to  show  their  noses.  Oh,  that  some  of  our 
rulers  could  see  what  I  see !  Our  guns  are  as  near  as 
possible  on  a  par  with  the  Japanese  guns,  and  it  is 
patent — obvious,  glaringly  obvious — that  these  have 
not  a  chance  in  the  fair  open  field  against  the  Russians.''^ 
10.20. — I  have  just  been  told  that  affairs  remain  in 
a  highly  critical  state  at  Fenchiho,  both  in  front  of  the 
Twelfth  Division  and  on  the  right  of  Umezawa's 
Brigade.  There  is  no  idea  now  of  the  Twelfth 
Division  &lling,  as  it  was  originally  intended  to  £all, 
upon  the  right  of  Stakelberg  at  Fenchiho.  There  are 
other  equally  powerful  bodies  of  Russians  threatening 
the  Tumenling  and  Taling  Passes,  and,  far  from  attack- 
ing, the  Twelfth  Division  are  only  hopeful  that  they 
iDB.y  by  great  efforts  be  enabled  to  prevent  the  enemy 
penetrating  between  Fenchiho  and  the  Tentai  coal 
mines.     {See  Map  XXXIY.  as  well  as  Map  XXXIII.) 

*  Modern  guns  have  been  iasued  to  the  British  Army  sinoe  this 
entry  was  made. — L  H« 


Okasaki's  Dashzng  Assault  191 

Stakelberg  has  a  superiority  of  about  six  to  one 
over  the  defenders  of  the  extreme  Japanese  right.  On 
the  afternoon  and  evening  of  the  9th  instant  he  had 
captured  two  lofty  mountains — Mingshan  and  Shishan, 
which  overlooked,  and,  to  some  extent,  gave  him  a  fire 
command  over  the  Japanese  trenches  in  front  of  Pen- 
chiho.  (iSee  Sketch  XXX.)  Instead  of  pushing  on 
instantly  and,  under  cover  of  the  approaching  nighty 
making  use  of  each  of  the  captured  heights  as  a  fulcrum 
to  break  down  all  further  resistance,  Stakelberg  rested 
on  his  laurels.     Then  two  things  happened. 

That  night  three  battalions  and  a  mountain  battery 
of  the  Twelfth  Division,  under  command  of  Shimamura, 
one  of  the  best  Brigadiers  in  the  Army,  marched  into 
Penchiho  and  gave  a  fine  fillip  to  the  spirit  of  the 
defenders.  So  much  cheer  did  this  reinforcement 
bring  to  their  hearts  that  it  was  nobly  resolved  to  let 
Umezawa's  two  battalions  go  back  to  their  own 
Brigadier  at  Taling,  where  they  were  badly  needed, 
whilst  Shimamura  with  3000  men  remained  to  face 
Stakelberg's  15,000. 

The  second  thing  took  place  at  11  a.m.  yesterday 
morning,  up  to  which  hour  Stakelberg  had  been  mark- 
ing time  until  the  mist  should  begin  to  rise.  Shima- 
mura, on  the  contrary,  thought  mist  was  just  what  he 
wanted  to  cloak  his  preparation  for  a  mettlesome  enter- 
prise, and  the  very  moment  it  showed  signs  of  lifting 
he  was  ready,  and,  hurling  500  gallant  soldiers  at 
Shishan,  snapped  it  back  from  its  unsupported  garrison 
before  the  enemy's  masses  could  so  much  as  set  them- 
selves in  motion.  This  dashing  feat  of  arms  was  per- 
formed in  full  view  of  both  armies,  and,  like  Bobert 
the  Bruce's  historical  whack  on  the  casque  of  Sir 
Henry  de  Bohun,  the  incident  must  have  exercised  a 
marked  effect  on  the  fortunes  of  the  day.     Before 


192  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

armies  close  in  mortal  conflict  their  souls  wrestle  with 
one  another  spiritually,  and  thousands  of  intelligences 
strained  to  almost  superhuman  acuteness  of  discern- 
ment seek  for  some  sign,  and  rarely  seek  in  vain,  for  it 
is  the  nature  of  such  signs  to  fulfil  themselves. 

When  Shishan  was  taken,  then,  and  not  till  then, 
did  the  giant  begin  to  move,  as  Stakelberg's  slow 
columns  deploying  into  line  commenced  their  ponderous 
attack.  It  is  still  touch  and  go  out  there,  but  the 
Headquarters  feel  more  confident  now  that  Shimamura 
has  got  back  Shishan,  for  what  that  commander  grips 
he  will  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  let  go. 

Another  favourable  prognosis  is  that  Bennenkampf, 
who  crossed  the  Taitsuho  at  Weining,  has  not  advanced 
against  Chaotao,  where  he  might  almost  with  impunity 
have  dealt  the  First  Army  a  severe  blow,  but  has 
turned  back  northwards  to  attack  or  threaten  Penchiho 
from  the  south.  Between  Penchiho  and  our  coal  mines 
the  Russians  are  still  hesitating  in  front  of  Umezawa 
and  the  Twelfth  Division  at  the  Tumenling  and  Taling 
Passes.  They  are  in  enormously  superior  force,  and 
had  they  attacked  directly  they  got  into  position, 
Genei*al  Inouye,  commanding  the  Twelfth  Division, 
would  never  have  dared  detach  Shimamura  to  reinforce 
Penchiho, 

But  it  is  easy  to  carry  this  same  principle  further. 
Had  the  Russians  now  menacing  our  main  body  with 
an  attack  come  rushing  down  impetuously  on  the  8th 
instant,  then  Kuroki  would  never  have  dared  despatch 
his  Twelfth  Division  out  to  the  east  to  help  Umezawa, 
who  must  have  been  irremediably  lost. 

It  seems  that  under  our  own  orders  issued  at  10  p.m. 
last  night  we  ought  to  be  by  now  a  mile  or  two  beyond 
the  line  along  which  I  can  now  see  the  Russians 


.«^l  ^ 


Okasaki's  Dashing  Assault  193 

manning  their  shelter  trenches.  By  now,  in  fact,  the 
Guards  to  the  east  of  Daisan  mountain  should  have 
fought  their  way  beyond  Kamiriuka,  and  the  Second 
Division,  that  is  to  say,  the  brigades  of  Matsunaga  on 
the  right  and  of  Okasaki  on  the  left,  should  be  firmly 
fixed  upon  the  height  north  of  Shotatsuko.  But  here 
we  are  still  much  on  the  same  line  as  yesterday.  We 
are  waiting,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  for  the  Fourth  Army 
on  our  left.  For  Oyama's  Manchurian  army  orders 
issued  last  night  say  specifically »  so  I  am  told,  that  the 
Fourth  Army  is  to  make  a  wheel  to  the  right  so  as  to 
drive  the  enemy  off  the  main  Liaoyang-Mukden  road 
into  the  mountains.  I  think,  though,  that  there  is 
another  reason  besides  the  tardy  advance  of  the  Fourth 
Army  to  account  for  the  fact  that  I  am  still  perched  on 
the  coal  mine  hill  when  I  ought  to  be  five  miles  to  the 
north  of  it,  and  that  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  power 
and  activity  of  the  Russian  artillery. 

Whilst  I  was  learning  these  details  and  conmiitting 
them  to  paper,  an  officer  had  come  in  from  the  Second 
Division  headquarters,  who  are  on  a  hill  close  by,  to 
say  that  Okasaki  was  anxious  to  advance  against  Tera- 
yama,  but  that  he  could  not  get  any  news  of  the  Fourth 
Army  on  his  left,  bo  I  may  not  have  been  correct  in 
what  I  have  just  written  about  the  hesitation  bemg 
mainly  due  to  the  Russian  guns.  Okasaki  is  in  the 
low  hills  two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  north-west  of  us. 
An  order  is  being  sent  back  to  him,  through  his 
divisional  general,  saying  that  General  Kuroki  can 
give  him  no  news,  but  that  he  must  understand 
quite  clearly  that  he  is  absolutely  forbidden  to  commit 
himself  in  any  way  until  he  gets  into  touch  with  the 
Fourth  Army.  Unless  there  is  some  very  ugly 
mistake  in  the  whole  of  the  Japanese  calculations  the 

II  K 


194  A  Staff  Offioee's  Scraf-Book 

right  of  the  Fourth  Army  must  be  within  five  miles 
of  us. 

Our  position,  and  the  lie  of  the  country  to  the  west 
of  us,  are  ideal  for  the  purposes  of  heliographic  commu- 
nication. Nothing  could  be  better  than  a  plain  dotted 
here  and  there  with  natural  signalling  stations  in  the 
shape  of  detached  hills.  The  sun,  too,  is  shining 
gloriously,  and  we  ought,  in  short,  to  be  in  close-knitted 
consultation  not  only  with  our  own  conunanders  and 
with  Nodzu  of  the  Fourth  Army,  but  also  with  Oku 
of  the  Second  Army,  and  with  Marshal  Oyama  and 
Manchurian  Army  Headquarters.  But  we  know 
nothing  of  what  is  happening  outside  Matsunaga's 
brigade  on  Daisan  to  our  right  and  Okasaki's  on  our 
left.* 

11  A.M.- — The  worst  of  writing  on  a  battle-field  is 
the  necessity  which  it  entails  of  constant  contradic- 
tions. I  have  just  been  told  that  a  telephone  message 
came  in  from  the  Guards  an  hour  ago,  namely,  at  9.40, 
saying  that  Izaki's  First  Brigade  of  Guards  had  cap- 
tured a  hill,  called  242,  without  fighting,  during  the 
night,  whilst  Watanabe's  Second  Brigade  had  effected 
a  lodgment  at  dawn  on  the  southern  part  of  Hill  238. 
(See  Map  XXXIII.)  The  capture  of  238  waa  only 
effected  after  hard  fighting,  although  there  was  no 
bayonet  work,  but  only  musketry.  The  Russians  became 
silhouetted  against  the  sky  line  at  grey  dawn,  but  the 
Japanese,  who  had  worked  up  to  close  quarters,  remained 
invisible  in  the  dark  valley,  so  that  they  had  two 
to  one  the  best  of  it.     When  selecting  night  positions 

*  There  is  a  school  of  thought  in  Gfermany  which  deprecates 
signalling,  as  it  is  thought  to  lessen  the  self-reliance  of  commanders. 
But  in  this  case,  at  any  rate,  the  commanders  were  most  anxious  to 
communicate  with  one  anotben 


Okasaki's  Dashing  Assault  195 

the  Japanese  are  more  and  more  inclining  to  sacrifice 
the  advantage  of  an  extensive  field  of  fire  for  the  sake 
of  forcing  the  enemy  to  cross  the  sky-line  in  his  attack. 
Naturally  the  crest  of  the  ridge  is  re- occupied  directly 
it  becomes  daylight.  We  had  arrived  at  a  similar  con- 
clusion in  the  Western  Transvaal  towards  the  end  of 
the  South  African  campaign.^  Major-General  Asada, 
who  has  now  been  promoted  from  a  brigade  to  com- 
mand the  Guards  Division  vice  Hasegawa  sent  to  be 
Commander-in-Chief  in  Korea,  adds  that  he  cannot 
carry  out  his  orders  in  full  or  attack  the  enemy  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Kameriuka-Hakashi  valley  until  his 
artillery  is  able  to  come  up  to  his  assistance.  About 
this  time  I  heard  an  officer  say,  but  not  to  me,  that  it 
was  too  bad  of  our  artillery  not  to  put  forth  its  full 
strength  now  that  our  infantry  was  advancing.  But  the 
poor  old  Japanese  batteries  are  being  simply  smothered. 
The  well-beloved  guns  cannot  open  their  mouths.  This 
is  an  exemplar  of  the  weakest  point  of  the  Japanese — 
the  inferiority  of  their  artillery. 

Soon  after  eleven  o'clock  an  exciting  message  (as  I 
could  see  from  the  faces  of  the  staff)  was  received,  the 
purport  of  which  I  did  not  clearly  catch.  From  the 
talk  of  the  adjutants  it  seems  as  if  the  enemy  might 
be  preparing  to  retreat.  But  notwithstanding  very 
heavy  fire,  especially  in  the  mountains  immediately  to 
the  east,  there  is  as  yet  nothing  like  general  advance 
on  the  part  of  the  Japanese. 

12.15. — Just  had  a  second  cup  of  tea  in  a  red^lacquer 

^  I  heard  afterwards  from  Oolonel  Hume  that  in  his  orders  for 
the  attack,  G^eral  Watanabe,  who  had  no  time  to  arrange  for  disr 
tinguishing  badges,  issued  the  following  general  instruction  to  the 
battalion  commanders :  '*  Japanese  are  short,  foreigners  are  tall. 
There  are  no  foreign  attaches  with  the  brigade  to-night,  so  treat 
every  tall  man  you  come  across  as  an  enemy." 


196  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

bowl.  The  movements  of  the  Russians  in  the  neigh- 
bourhoood  of  Shotatsuko  and  Terayama  have  for  some 
time  past  seemed  strangely  undecided.  Columns  com- 
posed of  the  three  arms  march  sometimes  east ;  then 
counter-march  and  move  north-west;  two  brigades 
hover  to  the  north  of  Terayama  ;  and  again  a  brigade 
advances  from  Kamiriuka  southwards  towards  San- 
joshisan.  The  fierceness  of  the  artillery  and  rifle-fire 
continues  unabated,  and  the  Russians  still  keep  a  firm 
grip  on  Sanjoshisan  on  our  right,  and  Terayama  on  our 
left.  Neither  side  has  any  troops  now  in  the  open 
plain  immediately  to  the  north  of  the  coal-mines.  It 
is  the  hope  of  the  Japanese  that  the  Russians  may  be 
tempted  to  push  into  this  vacant  space,  when  they 
would  be  hemmed  in  and  swallowed  up  very  quickly, 
but  I  doubt  if  they  will  be  quite  so  accommodating. 

1.30  P.M. — ^I  have  witnessed  a  scene  which  I  shall 
never  forget  as  long  as  I  live.  For  the  last  hour, 
Matsunaga  has  been  making  spirited  efforts  to  reach 
Sanjoshisan,  and  his  brave  infantry  have  been  stream- 
ing like  a  pack  of  hounds,  now  in  full  cry,  now  being 
badly  checked,  over  the  hills  between  Daisan  and  their 
objective.  From  my  coal-mine  hill  I  cannot  see  what 
is  happening  on  the  eastern  watershed  of  these  ridges, 
but  the  men  working  over  the  western  slopes,  and  all 
their  actions,  stand  out  as  clear  as  noonday  against  the 
rocky  background.     {See  Sketch  XXIV.) 

Only  two  ridges  lay  between  the  Japanese  and  San- 
joshisan, but  beyond  that  point  they  seemed  quite 
unable  to  progress.  Some  time  before  mid-day  Mat- 
sunaga reinforced  his  left  from  his  brigade  reserve  in 
Kento  village,  and  then  at  last  he  appeared  to  gain 
strength  to  press  back  the  enemy  a  little  further.  On 
the  last  rounded  ridge  to  the  south-west  of  Sanjoshisan, 


Okasaki's  Dashing  Assault  197 

and  on  one  of  the  spurs  running  south-west  from  the 
main  mountain  were  about  two  battalions  of  Russians, 
and  they  had  some  reserves  dose  behind  them  in  a 
wood.  It  was  the  fire  from  these  battalions  which  was 
stopping  Matsunaga's  further  progress.  But  now,  in 
the  most  dramatic  fashion  conceivable,  one  more  step 
forwards  was  about  to  be  made.  Exactly  on  the  sum- 
mit of  the  rounded  knoll  (ctiUed  "  Bayonet  Knoll  "  on 
Sketch  XXIV.)  was  an  advanced  post  of  some  fifty  or 
sixty  Russians  in  a  trench.  They  were  engaged  in  a 
hot  fire  fight  with  Matsunaga's  men  on  the  southern 
prolongation  of  the  same  ridge  at  a  range  of  200  or  300 
yards. 

Suddenly  I  espied  a  Japanese  section  of  perhaps 
twenty-five  men  darting  along,  and  making  their  way 
in  first-class  shikari  style  from  cover  to  cover  along  the, 
to  me,  fiilly  exposed  lower  slopes  of  the  ridge  on  which 
their  enemy  was  entrenched.  The  Russian  com- 
mander had  made  the  fatal  mistake  of  not  throwing 
out  a  few  men  to  cover  his  right  flank.  There  was 
some  broken  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  knoll  which 
would  have  given  good  shelter,  and  whence  a  small 
detachment  could  have  enfiladed,  and  prevented  the 
encircling  movement  now  made  by  the  Japanese. 
For  these,  daring  greatly,  worked  right  round  and 
upwards  until  they  suddenly  emerged  within  fifty 
yards  of  the  Russians,  and  actually  in  their  right  rear. 
The  commander  of  the  Russians  drew  his  sword.  He 
and  all  his  men  quitted  their  entrenchment  and  fell  on 
with  the  bayonet  whilst  the  detachment  of  Japanese 
rushed  in  to  meet  them.  Then,  just  like  a  football 
scrimmage,  except  for  the  gleams  of  steel,  the  little 
mob  of  brave  and  desperate  fighters  worked  slowly 
over  to  the  northern  slope   of  the  knoll,  leaving  a 


198  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

trail  of  prostrate,  motionless  figures.  The  Russians 
were  the  more  numerous,  but  help  was  at  hand  for  the 
Japanese,  though  none  came,  why  I  cannot  say,  for 
their  adversaries.  Matsunaga's  main  frontal  attack 
dashed  in  from  the  south,  and  soon  all  that  could  be 
seen  of  the  late  defenders  of  the  knoll  was  a  handful 
of  poor  fellows  running  with  painful  slowness  in  their 
long  great  coats  over  the  open  plough.  They  fled 
towards  the  north-west,  becoming  fewer  and  fewer 
under  the  fire  of  many  rifles,  which  freely  took  toll  of 
the  survivors  even  as  I  looked,  horror-stricken  and  yet 
fascinated  by  the  tragedy  of  such  a  scene. 

A  very  minor  incident  perhaps  to  chronicle  so  fiiUy 
during  a  great  battle.  But  there  is  value  in  small 
things  just  as  much  as  in  great.  Any  impartial 
soldier  who  saw  what  I  saw  would  have  been  struck 
by  the  parade-like  stiffness  and  inflexible  immobility 
of  the  Russians  which  condemned  them  to  be  passive 
spectators  of  their  own  impending  envelopment  and 
destruction  by  the  lightning-like  initiative  of  the 
indi^dual  Japanese  soldier.  Then,  small  as  was  the 
affair,  it  might  serve  to  recall  to  his  memory  a  Latin 
pioverb,  and  he  might  wonder  if  this  wm  to  be  merely 
a  chance  example  or  whether  it  was  a  case  of  ex  pede 
HercuUm. 

2  P.M. — It  looks  as  if  Matsunaga's  men  had  shot 
their  bolt  in  capturing  "  Bayonet  Knoll."  They  are 
evidently  under  a  very  hot  fire  from  the  main  moun- 
tain of  Sanjoshisan  and  from  the  intervening  ground, 
and  are  busy  entrenching  themselves  just  behind  the 
crest  line  of  the  ridge  they  have  won.  Matsunaga 
has  sent  in  to  say  he  is  having  a  terribly  rough  time, 
but  his  troops  must  now  be  within  a  mile  of  the 
Russiaoi  guns  at  the  foot  of  the  spur  running  north- 


■  •«     'w     ■■«■■     I       HP^HiBvr'^i^WpiHaailVl 


Okasaki's  Dashing  Assault  199 

west  from  Sanjoshisan,  so  these  last  also  must  find 
themselves  in  a  difficult  position.  I  have  only  just  heard 
that  a  message  came  in  at  1.7  p.m.  from  the  Guards 
saying  the  enemy  was  too  strong,  and  that  an  advance 
beyond  Hill  238  was  impracticable.  I  can  now  see  a 
Bussian  company  who  are  trying  to  work  southwards 
along  the  western  slopes  of  Sanjoshisan.  They  have 
got  into  a  ravine  which  forms  a  deep,  yellow-coloured 
scar  half-way  across  the  flank  of  the  mountain,  and 
there  they  seem  to  stick.  At  this  time  I  heard  Kuroki 
exclaim  :  "I  must  insist  upon  getting  clearer  informa- 
tion about  our  own  troops  and  those  of  the  enemy." 

2.40  P.M. — Beyond  Shotatsuko*  large  columns  of 
Russians  are  marching  eastwards.  They  seem  in  some 
confusion,  and  the  Staff  declare  that  they  can  see 
single  guns  moving  with  them  which  is  a  very  good 
sign,  if  true,  only  I  cannot  make  them  out.  The  woods 
and  villages  are  on  fire.     All  looks  well. 

3  P.M. — The  Russians,  instead  of  retreating,  have 
come  out  of  the  burning  woods  beyond  Shotatsuko,  in 
two  extended  lines  at  an  interval  of  400  yards.  Behind 
them  is  yet  another  line  of  company  columns  of  sec- 
tions. A  great  battle  is  being  waged  to  the  westwards 
by  the  Second  and  Fourth  Armies* 

3.15  P.M. — ^A  grave  decision  has  been  taken.  Okasaki 
has  been  granted  permission  to  attack  Terayama^f 
When  Kuroki  heard  within  an  hour  from  Asada,  com- 
manding the  Guards  Division,  and  Matsunaga,  com- 
manding the  Third  Brigade,  Second  Division,  that  they 
were  at  the  end  of  their  tether,  he  must  have  felt 
some  heaviness  of  heart  on  reflecting  that,  in  the 
eastern  area  of  combat   at  Tumenling,  Taling,   and 

*  Chinese,  Hsiao  Takou. 

t  Terayama  is  the  Japanese  for  Temple  Hill. 


200  A  Staff  Opfiobr's  Scrap-Book 

Penchiho,  the  outlook  was  very  black  and  that  his 
high  hopes  of  relieving  his  overmatched  right  by  a 
brilliant  counter-stroke  in  the  centre  had  fallen  to  the 
ground.  ITiere  remained  only  his  extreme  left  where 
Okasaki^  fearless  and  true,  a  general  good  at  need  if 
ever  there  was  one,  might  still,  if  qualities  of  great- 
heartedness  and  resolution  would  serve,  achieve  some 
exploit  by  which  the  soul  of  the  Bussian  Commander 
might  be  shaken  and  daunted.  True,  it  had  been 
Oyama's  intention  that  the  advance  of  the  Manchurian 
Army  should  be  by  a  wheel  to  the  right,  and  in  pur- 
suance of  this  intention  the  Fourth  Army  should  have 
led  the  way  by  taking  Sankwaisekisan  before  Okasaki 
moved  forward.  But  the  intention  of  a  Generalissimo 
must  sometimes  give  way  to  the  imperious  necessities 
of  an  Army  Commander,  and  as  Nodzu  *  made  no  sign 
and  the  shadows  were  growing  long,  Kuroki,  with 
what  anguish  of  mind  no  man  will  ever  know,  re- 
solved to  let  slip  his  great  warrior  from  the  leash. 

3.40  P.M. — The  Bussian  artillery  at  the  foot  of  the 
spur  running  north-west  from  Sanjoshisan  is  retiring 
one  gun  at  a  time.  What  between  high  explosive 
shell  and  rifle  bullets  they  must  surely  have  suffered 
terrible  losses  in  holding  on  so  long.f  A  coliunn  of 
Bussians  is  certainly  retiring  over  the  big  hill  a  little 
to  the  north-west  of  Shotatsuko|  by  the  same  path  along 
which  they  made  their  advance  yesterday. 

3.45  P.M. — Okasaki's  Brigade  has  begun  to  move 
against  Terayama.      It  is  as  bad  a  place  almost  to 

*  The  Oommander  of  the  Fourth  Army. 

t  Afterwards  I  went  over  their  position  and  I  doubt  if  their 
casualties  were  very  serious,  although  they  had  lost  eight  or  ten 
horses.  The  guns  had  been  in  action  just  behind  the  crest  line  and 
most  of  the  Japanese  shell  had  passed  over  them. 

t  Afterwards  called  Okasakiyama, 


OKASAKfs  Dashing  Assault  201 

attack  as  was  the  Boer  position  at  Doomkop  by 
Johannesburg.  Looking,  as  I  do,  due  north  from  the 
coal-mines,  the  country  lies  before  me  as  plain  as  the 
pahn  of  ray  hand,  apparently  open,  flat,  plough-land, 
unbroken  except  by  a  small  rocky  hill  (Japanese 
Ishiyama)  2000  yards  distant.  Carrying  the  eye 
onwards  beyond  this  rocky  Hill  there  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  level  plain  for  2500  yards  as  far  as 
Terayama,  although,  on  closer  inspection,  it  becomes 
evident  that,  about  two-thu'ds  of  the  way  across  the 
open,  a  straggling  village  called  Kokashi,  should, 
by  its  orchards  and  houses,  yield  some  conceal- 
ment to  an  attack  advancing  from  the  south.  The 
hill  itself  rises  less  than  100  feet  above  the  plain,  and 
is  about  500  yards  long,  from  north  to  south.  It 
seems  to  be  narrow  at  the  top,  about  the  centre  of 
which  stand  the  Temple  buildings.  A  low  ridge, 
slightly  elevated  above  the  plain,  connects  Terayama 
with  the  mountains  on  the  north  of  the  Sankashi 
valley,  which  are  fall  of  Russians.  Just  to  the  south 
and  west  of  the  hill  is  a  sunken  road,  into  which 
Russian  troops  have  been  seen  dropping  from  view 
and  evidently  taking  up  their  line  of  defence.  Indeed, 
I  can  see  them  even  now  in  places  showing  themselves 
clearly  up  to  their  waists  notwithstanding  the  Japanese 
shells  passing  over  their  heads  on  to  Terayama. 

A  natural  cover  such  as  this  sunken  road  is  much 
better  than  any  extemporised  field-work,  inasmuch 
as  there  is  no  freshly  turned-up  earth  to  betray  its 
existence  to  the  hostile  guns.  But  the  Russians  have 
quite  thrown  away  this  advantage  by  exposing  them- 
selves to  view,  not  only  on  first  entering  the  sunken 
road,  which  may  have  been  inevitable,  but  now,  when 
from  every  point  of  view  except  that  of  the  Japanese* 


202  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

it  is  most  necessary  that  they  should  escape  detection. 
Even  as  I  write  the  Japanese  artillery  are  beginning 
to  range  on  them,  and  it  seems  that  not  even  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation  can  induce  the  Russian 
soldier  to  grasp  the  full  value  of  concealment. 

The  main  strength  of  the  Terayama  position  lies,  not 
so  much  in  the  hillock  itself,  the  long  narrow  shape  of 
which,  pointing  towards  the  south  like  an  arrow,  gives 
no  breadth  for  the  development  of  any  volume  of 
musketry  upon  the  Japanese  line  of  advance.  Its 
strength  lies  rather  in  the  perfectly  flat  glacis  of  500 
or  600  yards,  extending  unbroken  to  Kokashi  village  ; 
in  the  enfilading  fire  which  can  be  brought  upon  this 
glacis  from  the  Russian  gims  at  Sankwaisekisan,  as 
well  as  from  a  battery  to  the  north  of  Sankashi,  and 
most  of  all,  perhaps,  in  the  sunken  road  I  have 
described  which  runs  north-westwards,  passing  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  southern  salient  of  Terayama,  and 
covering  the  whole  of  its  western  flank. 

8  P.M.,  Taiyo  Village. — I  was  unable  to  write  more 
on  the  field,  as  T  could  not  afibrd  to  take  my  glasses 
for  even  one  moment  off  the  most  headlong  and  dash- 
ing attack  I  have  ever  witnessed.  In  saying  so  much 
I  do  not  wish  to  imply  that  it  was  a  finer  attack  than 
that  of  the  gallant  infantry  at  Elandslaagte  and  of  the 
Gordon  Highlanders  at  Doomkop,  by  Johannesburg, 
for  that  would  be  impossible,  but  it  was  more  swift 
and  on  that  account  more  impressive. 

A  nation  which  can  produce  a  whole  brigade ;  that 
is  to  say,  two  regiments,  or  six  battalions ;  every  single 
individual  of  which  eagerly  rushes  to  seek  the  bubble 
reputation  in  the  cannon's  mouth ;  not  one  single  indi- 
vidual of  which  is  even  a  laggard,  must  be  a  great 
nation,  and  cannot  be  denied  the  palm.     But  I  am 


OKASAKfs  Dashing  Assault  203 

anticipating.  It  was  about  3.45  of  the  clock  when 
the  brave  Japanese  broke  cover  in  one  long  line  and 
headed  due  north.  The  men  were  almost  shoulder  to 
shoulder  in  single  rank.  The  supports  followed  at 
about  200  yards>  also  in  single  rank,  and  behind  them 
came  the  reserve  in  double  rank.  There  was  no  firing** 
The  rank  and  file  marched  with  sloped  arms  and  fixed 
bayonets  and  swung  along  steadily,  almost  solenmly, 
forward.  Many  bullets  came  flying  over  Kokashi 
village  from  Terayama  and  struck  the  plain  here  and 
there  like  the  first  heavy,  stabbing  drops  of  a  coming 
thunderstorm,  but  still  Okasaki  did  not  open  his 
ranks.  It  was  God's  mercy  that  the  Russian  gunners 
held  off  their  shrapnel  rafales,  or,  to  speak  more 
materially,  it  seemed  to  be  owing  to  the  efforts  of 
the  Japanese  artillery  that  the  outburst  of  the  deluge 
was  fended  off  for  yet  a  little  longer.  All  along  the 
front  of  the  Second  Division  the  gunners  sweated 
and  laboured  at  their  task  until  Terayama  was 
almost  obliterated  from  the  landscape,  swathed 
around  in  a  pall  of  inky  black  smoke  from  the  high 
explosive  shell.  Nor  were  the  enemy's  batteries 
north-west  of  Sankwaisekisan  and  north  of  Sankashi 
forgotten,  and  so  furious  and  sudden  was  the  fire  attack 
made  upon  them  that  the  Russians  devoted  all  their 
attention  to  the  Japanese  gims,  and  could  not,  or,  at 
any  rate,  did  not,  turn  upon  the  infantry. 

Now  I  noticed  that  the  power  of  Kuroki's  artillery 
had  been  augmented,  and  learnt  that  the  guns  of  the 
Fourth  Army  had  also  joined  in  from  their  position 
on  the  low  hills  two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  north-west 
of  where  I  sat.  I  cannot  tell  the  number  of  guns  in 
action  on  either  side,  but  certainly  those  of  the 
Japanese  were  the  most  numerous.    In  spite  of  this 


204  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scrap-Book 

advantage  the  Russian  artUlery  slowly  wrested  back 
its  superiority,  until  the  fire  in  support  of  the  attack 
again  became  spasmodic  and  feeble  as  heretofore.  But 
not  before  it  had  to  a  great  extent  served  its  purpose. 
Okasaki's  infantry  had  reached  Kokashi  without  firing 
Ik  shot  themselves,  and  without,  so  far  as  I  could  see 
suffering  any  loss  at  idl  from  the  bullets  which  had 
been  raising  little  puffs  and  spurts  of  dust  about  them 
as  they  advanced.  As  for  the  Russian  guns,  they  had 
either  failed  to  detect  the  commencement  of  the  attack, 
or  else  they  had  been  successfully  distracted  from 
their  legitimate  target  by  the  Japanese  bombardment. 

It  was  soon  after  four  o'clock  that  the  Brigade  Oka- 
saki  disappeared  into  Kokashi  and  into  a  village  half 
a  mile  to  the  east  of  it  called  West  Sankashi.  Then 
there  arose  a  continuous  tearing  crepitating  sound,  not 
very  loud,  and  yet  sufficient  in  intensity  and  volimie 
to  cause  us  all  to  shiver  with  excitement.  To  the  ear 
of  a  civilian  the  noise  might  have  awakened  comfortable 
reflections  of  frizzling  bacon ;  to  a  woman  it  might 
recall  the  bubbling  of  her  tea  kettle.  But  it  stirred  my 
own  blood  like  the  Valkyrie  Ritt.  It  startled  me  like  the 
sudden  snarl  of  a  wild  beast.  For  I  knew  that  thousands 
of  rifles  had  opened  magazine  fire  and  were  struggling 
at  from  500  to  600  yards  distance  for  the  fire  mastery, 
that  fire  mastery  which,  established  by  the  one  side 
would  render  the  assault  possible  ;  established  by  the 
other  must  doom  it  to  disastrous  failure.  Such  sounds 
as  these,  wafted  upon  the  evening  breeze,  bore 
messages  of  life  and  death  ;  more — of  victory  or  defeat 
to  all  who  could  grasp  their  significance. 

For  a  long,  long  time  the  anguish  of  anticipation  was 
spun  out  to  the  uttermost.  A  quarter  of  an  hour 
passed,  then  another  quarter  of  an  hour  ;  the  General 


Okasaki's  Dashing  Assault  205 

Staff  could  hardly  endure  it  any  longer,  but  Kuroki 
remained  confident  and  calm.  Then  another  ten 
minutes.  The  tension  became  unendurable.  The 
setting  sun  threw  its  reddish  rays  slantwise  on 
Terayama,  and  showed  it  smoking  like  a  volcano,  but 
apparently  quite  lifeless.  We  could  see  the  temple 
and  the  plain  more  clearly  even  than  at  mid-day. 
"  Ah,"  said  Kuroki ;  "  he  cannot  get  on.  To-day  we 
are  stuck  fast  all  along  the  line.''  In  his  voice  was  no 
tone  of  regret,  no  shade  of  mortification ;  at  the  most 
it  could  only  be  said  that  the  actual  words  betokened 
some  touch  of  despondency. 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  when  a  sharp  exclamation 
from  an  adjutant  made  me  turn  my  glasses  once  more 
upon  the  deserted  plain,  and  to  my  amazement  I  saw 
it,  deserted  no  longer,  but  covered  by  a  vast,  strag- 
gling, scattered  crowd  of  individuals,  each  racing 
towards  the  Russians  at  his  topmost  speed.  The 
Okasaki  Brigade  was  crossing  the  open  to  try  and 
storm  Terayama  by  one  supreme  effort;  and  the 
only  English  expression  which  will  convey  an  idea 
of  their  haste  is  that  phrase  of  the  hunting-field, 
**  Hell  for  leather."  Bullets  fell  thick  amongst  those 
who  ran  for  life  or  death  across  the  plain,  and  the 
yellow  dust  of  their  impact  on  the  plough  rose  in  a 
doud  almost  up  to  the  men's  knees.  By  what  magic 
these  bullets  almost  always  struck  in  the  vacant  spaces, 
and  very  rarely  on  the  bodies  of  the  men,  I  cannot 
explain,  beyond  saying  that  it  is  ever  thus  with  the 
bullets  of  a  bad  shooting  corps.  At  the  first  glance  it 
seemed  as  if  there  was  no  order  or  arrangement  in 
this  charge  of  a  brigade  over  500  to  600  yards  of  open 
plough.  But  suddenly  I  realised  that  it  was  not  chance 
but  skill  which  had  distributed  the  pawns  so  evenly 


206  A  Staff  Officer's  Scraf-Book 

over  the  chess  hoard.  The  crowd,  apparently  so  irre- 
gular and  so  loosely  knit  together,  consisted  of  great 
numbers  of  sections  and  half-sections  and  groups 
working  independently,  but  holding  well  together,  each 
in  one  little  line  under  its  own  officer  or  non-com- 
missioned officer.  There  was  no  regular  intervaL  I 
should  say  that  the  lateral  distance  between  men  was 
anything  between  two  and  ten  paces.  The  interval 
in  depth  is  more  difficult  to  determine,  but  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  it  was  rarely  less  than  ten  or  more  than 
forty  paces. 

In  certain  respects  the  startling,  sudden  onsli^ught 
of  Okasaki's  Brigade  resembled  a  Dervish  rush,  but 
with  one  marked  difference,  inasmuch  as  the  formation 
was  not  solid  but  exceedingly  flexible  and  loose,  offer- 
ing no  very  vulnerable  target  even  to  a  machine  gun. 
The  speed  was  marvellous,  and  the  men  got  across  the 
plain  more  like  charging  cavalry  than  ordinary  infantry. 
Some  say  that  the  leading  sections  paused  once  to  fire. 
I  did  not  see  this  happen.  To  the  best  of  my  observa- 
tion the  assaulting  infantry  ran  600  yards  without  the 
semblance  of  a  halt,  and  as  their  leading  files  reached 
the  sunken  road  they  dashed  unhesitatingly  into  it, 
right  on  to  the  top  of  the  crouching  Bussian  infantry ! 
Next  second  the  Bussians  and  their  assailants  were 
rushing  up  Terayama  slopes  in  one  confused  mob,  the 
whole  mass  convulsively  working  bayonet  and  bullet 
and  clubbed  rifle  as  they  ran.  The  hill  was  carried. 
Bravo !  Bravo ! !  Bravo ! ! ! 

The  whole  thing  was  so  instantaneous  that  the 
Bussian  artillery  at  Sankwaisekisan  did  not  get  to 
work  until  just  as  the  last  of  the  Japanese  were  clear- 
ing  off  the  plain  a^d  closing  in  on  Terayama.  The 
gun8  north  of  Sankashi  had  fired,  but  in  the  agitation 


206 

over  the 

gular  am 

numbers 

working 

in  one  1 

mifisionec 

should  S£ 

anything 

in  depth 

to  say  t 

forty  pa' 

In  cer* 

of  Okasf 

with  one 

was  not  t 

ing  no  V6 

The  spee. 

plain  moi 

Some  saj; 

I  did  not 

tion  the  i 

semblanc 

the  sunk 

right  on  t 

Next  sec 

rushing  u 

whole  mi 

and  clubl 

Bravo  1  E 

The  wj 

Bussian  i 

work  unti 

ing  off  tl 

guns  nort 


OKAflAKfs  Dashing  Assault  207 

of  the  moment  their  shell  were  Aised  too  short  and 
burst  high  in  the  air.  Their  range  must  have  been 
over  4000  yards,  whereas  the  Sankwaisekisan  guns 
cannot  have  been  more  than  3500  yards,  and  were 
absolutely  in  the  prolongation  of  the  left  flank  of  the 
advance.  The  actual  temple  buildings  held  out  for 
some  ten  minutes,  and  were  then  carried  by  the  bayonet 
But  the  Russians  on  the  northern  section  of  the  hill 
were  sturdy  fellows  who  resolutely  refused  to  budge. 
This  is  always  the  way  with  the  Russians.  Just  when 
ft.rth»  r«i,L»e  -eeL  hopd»s  they  begin  to  fight 
A  outrance.  Still,  so  long  as  the  forlorn  hope  (if  a 
rearguard  may  be  called  a  forlorn  hope)  held  on,  there 
was  a  door  being  held  open  on  the  hill  whereby  rein- 
forcements could  enter.  Two  Russian  battalions 
thought  of  making  the  attempt.  They  came  down 
from  the  hills  to  the  north  looking  formidable  and  bold 
until,  on  their  entrance  into  the  zone  of  conflict  being 
greeted  by  a  shower  of  shells,  they  thought  better  of 
it  and  sheered  off.  But  their  comrades,  the  little  body 
left  on  the  hill,  still  seem  to  be  holding  on  to  the  last 
comer  of  the  hill,  and  are  making  a  very  gallant 
fight  of  it,  not  so  much,  I  fancy,  in  any  hope  of  dis- 
lodging the  Japanese  as  for  the  honour  and  glory  of 
the  Army  and  the  Czar. 

At  5.20  there  was  a  discussion  between  all  the  Staff 
and  Kuroki  as  to  how  the  troops  at  Penchiho  were  to 
be  fed  now  that  the  Cossacks  had  crossed  the  Taitsuho 
and  were  interposing  between  them  and  Chaotao, 
whence,  until  now,  they  had  drawn  their  supplies. 
The  question  seemed  to  be  considered  very  urgent  and 
important.  At  5.30  urgent  applications  for  gun  and 
rifle  ammunition  began  to  come  in  from  all  sides,  and 
there  were  earnest  consultations  on  the  subject. 


208  A  Staff  Officer's  Sorap-Book 

The  Russian  guns  were  now  firing  heavily  into 
Okasaki's  Brigade  on  the  south  part  of  Terayama, 
both  from  the  east  and  from  the  west.  I  left  the 
coal-mines  at  5.45  p.m. 

So  ends  a  day  filled  with  the  life  and  death  of  half 
an  average  life-time.  I  wonder  what  are  the  feelings 
which  Kuroki  conceals  behind  that  impassive  mask— 
his  countenance  ?  Brilliant  as  it  is^  Okasaki's  triumph 
is  not  perhaps  considered  by  him  sufficient  when  he 
reflects  that  no  other  success  has  been  scored,  and  that 
his  right  at  Penchiho  stands  still  on  the  brink  of  ruin. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE   BATTLE   CONTINUES 

CoAL-MiNE  Hill,  October  12th,  1904,  8  a.m. — Again 
from  this  same  hill  the  marvellous  war  panorama 
spreads  out  to  the  same  Valkyrie  orchestra  of  cannon 
and  small  arms.  But  the  music  is  less  strident.  The 
battle  is  shifting  to  the  north.  The  Japanese  are 
holding  Sanjoshisan  and  all  the  heights  south  of  the 
Sankashi-Menkaho  vaUey,  and  have  clinched  their 
hold  on  Terayama,  which  belongs  to  the  northern 
heights,  by  digging  themselves  deeply  into  the  ground. 
Before  I  left  Taiyo,  at  7  a.m.,  Colonel  Hagino  said  to 
me,  "  To-day's  fighting  will  be  desperate,  because  the 
enemy  has  now  been  forced  back  upon  the  mountain 
tops  to  the  north  of  the  Sankashi  valley,  and  we  will 
have  to  delivej  our  assaults  from  the  low  ground." 
But  I  must  hasten  to  add  that  he  seemed  rather  to 
relish  than  to  dread  the  prospect. 

I  am  now  with  the  Headquarters  Staff.  The  amount 
there  is  to  write  about  is  simply  bewildering  and  my 
a>ge«  are  half  ftozsn  by  this'^er,  nippujaix  fro^ 
the  north. 

The  first  thing  I  have  to  do  is  to  knit  up  to-day 
with  yesterday  by  putting  down  what  I  have  been 
told  about  the  eventful  night  which  has  just  passed. 
Terrible  fighting  was  taking  place  all  along  the  line 

II  o 


210  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scrap-Book 

whilst  I  was  comfortably  sleeping  at  Taiyo,  and  the 
results  have  been  on  the  whole  reassuring.  Nothing 
will  ever  persuade  me  that  the  Headquarters  were  not 
anxious  and  almost  alarmed  last  night.  But  if  they 
had  courage  and  self-restraint  to  conceal  their  feelings 
from  a  casual  observer  (in  which  category  I  do  not 
class  myself),  their  bulletin  to  the  army  was  even 
less  calculated  to  reveal  any  touch  of  doubt  or 
despondency.  I  quitted  the  Greneral  Staff  on  this  same 
spot  at  5.30  yesterday  evening.  By  6  o'clock  they 
had  talked  over  the  situation  and  had  issued  the 
following  orders,  which  were,  I  think,  considerably 
more  sanguine  than  their  feelings  : 

(1)  The  enemy  seems  to  be  retreating  on  every  side. 
A  detachment  from  the  Second  Division  will  advance 
eastwards  to  attack  along  the  front  of  the  left  wing  of 
the  Twelfth  Division.  The  Japanese  forces  in  the 
direction  of  Penchiho  are  still  safe. 

(2)  I  intend  to-night  to  take  the  line  from  the  east 
of  Domonshi  to  the  height  north  of  Shotatsuko. 

(3)  The  Guards  and  the  main  force  of  the  Second 
Division  shall  continue  their  advance  and  carry  out 
the  objects  of  the  First  Army. 

(4)  The  Twelfth  Division  and  the  Umezawa  Brigade 
shall  continue  to  carry  out  previous  orders. 

(5)  The  general  officer  commanding  will  be  at  Taiyo 
to-night. 

The  task  of  carrying  out  these  orders  should  be 
lightened  to  Okasaki's  fifteenth  brigade  on  Terayama 
by  the  fact  that  the  Fourth  Army  on  his  left  has 
made  an  important  advance  during  the  past  night  and 
has  captured  Sankwaisekisan.  General  Nodzu  *  has 
then  not  only  made  good  all  his  leeway,  but  has  seized 
a  point  some  two  miles  north  of  Terayama,  and  to  that 

*  The  Oonunander  of  the  Fourth  Army. 


The  Battle  Continues  211 

extent  has  taken  the  lead  in  the  great  race  to  Mukden 
between  Oyama's  generals.  An  adjutant  from  the 
Fourth  Army  came  up  here  half  an  hour  ago  and  has 
given  some  interesting  news  about  this  fighting.  Sank- 
waisekisan  is  five  miles  from  us,  a  little  to  the  west  of 
north,  and  can  be  seen  very  clearly  (see  Sketch  XXV.). 
I  have  also  had  a  good  account  of  the  terrain  from 
Captain  Jardine,  of  the  5th  Lancers,  who  accompanied 
the  Second  Cavalry  Brigade  on  a  reconnaissance  to  the 
Three  Great  Bock  Hill  (which  is  the  interpretation  of 
the  Chinese  name)  on  the  8th  instant.  Sankwaisekisan 
is  not  at  all  unlike  Terayama  in  size  or  shape,  but 
difiers  inasmuch  as  it  stands  alone  on  the  flat  plain 
with  no  broken  or  rising  ground  worth  mentioning 
within  several  thousand  yards  of  it.  There  are  villages 
on  the  plain,  it  is  true,  but  none  nearer  than  half  a 
mile  except  a  few  houses  and  walled  enclosures 
nestling  under  the  eastern  flank  of  Sankwaisekisan 
itself  The  rock  rises  quite  clear  and  distinct  like  an 
iceberg  from  the  ocean,  or,  more  accurately  perhaps, 
it  might  be  described  as  resembling  a  mediaeval  war- 
ship sailing  due  south  over  a  smooth  sea  of  yellowish 
plough.  The  ship  is  lower  in  the  waist  than  at  the 
bows  and  carries  a  high-peaked  poop.  Set  in  the 
centre  of  the  low  waist  are  three  buildings,  evidently 
temples,  enclosed  by  a  fairly  high  wall. 

I  have  described  the  Three  Great  Bock  Hill*  in  some 
detail,  although  the  exploit  of  its  capture  belongs  to 
another  army,  and  although  I  do  not  know  very  much 
about  the  conditions  under  which  the  attack  was 
delivered.  But  I  am  tempted  to  depart  from  my 
principles  by  the  strong  fanuly  resemblance  between 
Terayama,  taken  by  Okasaki  yesterday,  and  Three 
Great  Bock  Hill,  taken  by  the  Tenth  Division,  Fourth 

*  Sankwaisekioan. 


^m^ — »-^^^^i»^^w»"^^w^^w 


212  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

.  Army,  by  night  attack.  Both  commanders  were 
under  the  obligation  to  occupy  their  respective  hills, 
but  Okasaki  chose  the  day,  and  the  commander  of  the 
Tenth  Division  preferred  to  await  the  fall  of  night. 
Looking  with  a  calm  and  unprejudiced  mind  at  the 
groimd  from  where  I  sit,  I  freely  confess  that  I  would 
have  acted  as  did  the  commander  of  the  Tenth  Division, 
and  have  made  my  advance  across  the  level  plain,  if 
not  in  the  dead  of  night,  then,  at  any  rate,  in  the  dusk 
of  evening  or  the  misty  grey  of  the  early  dawn.  But 
a  Japanese  officer  of  high  rank  considers  that  the  way 
in  which  these  two  commanders  treated  their  parallel 
problems  affords  proof  of  the  admirable  audacity  of 
Okasaki,  which  has  been  thrown  into  striking  relief  by 
the  want  of  self-confidence  of  the  captor  of  Sank- 
waisekisan. 

All  I  know  of  the  night  attack  at  present 
is  that  it  was  carried  out  by  twenty-three  battalions, 
and  that  the  leading  battalions  were  in  single 
rank,  shoulder  to  shoulder ;  the  supports  a  very  short 
distance  behind  in  line  of  section  columns.*  The 
advance  began  at  1  A.M.  and  got  within  150  yards  by 
3  A.M.  when  zhe  enemy  opened  with  volleys.  The 
Japanese  did  not  reply,  but  crawled  on  quietly,  on 
hands  and  knees,  the  bullets  flying  high,  as  is  in- 
variably the  case  at  night,  unless  preparations  are 

*  It  transpired  afterwards  that  there  were  six  battalions  in  the 
first  line  in  single  rank,  shoulder  to  shoulder.  Eight  battalions  in 
support,  in  line  of  section  columns  at  close  interval,  but  with  fifty 
yards  interval  between  battalions,  and  nine  battalions  massed  in 
reserve. 

The  depth  between  the  first  and  second  Une  was  fifty  yards ;  and 
150  yards  separated  the  second  from  the  third  line.  The  army 
reserve  under  General  Nodzu  was  one  and  half  miles  in  rear  of  the 
western  flank  of  the  attacking  line.^-I»  H. 


^m^^^^^^m 


V     I 


I     J- 

5 — 5 * 

J      I  P 

I      i i 


^^ 


.J 


\   I 


The  Battle  Continues  213 

made  by  stretching  a  string  or  wire  in  front  of  the 
defenders'  trenches,  under  which  the  muzzles  of  their 
rifles  can  be  placed.  At  100  yards  range,  however,  the 
Japanese  could  no  longer  be  restrained  from  firing. 
The  main  part  of  the  Three  Bock  Hill  was  captured 
by  4.30  A.M.  after  bloody  and  desperate  fighting,  but 
the  Bussians  still  held  on  in  places,  and  defended  the 
village  even  after  it  was  blazing.  In  fact,  it  is  said  that 
the  fighting  is  not  yet  quite  at  an  end,  and  that  groups 
of  desperate  Bussians  are  even  now  struggling  on  in 
comers  amongst  the  rocks,  and  refusing  all  temptations 
to  surrender.  However,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
the  hill  is  certainly  captured,  for  I  can  clearly  see  the 
troops  of  the  Fourth  Army  swarming  about  on  all 
sides  of  it. 

The   Fourth  Army  *   have  lost  1000   men  in  this 

*  The  following  eztractH  from  a  subsequent  conversation  with  one 
of  the  actors  in  the  night  attack  make  the  story  more  complete : 
^'  Sankwaiseldsan  had  been  nicknamed  by  the  soldiers  oni  no  uehif 
or  '  the  devil's  mansion,'  and  as  our  proverb  has  it  that  the  devil  is 
a  bad  person  to  sup  with,  and  his  mansion  was  to  us  an  unknown 
land,  we  all  feasted  heartily  up  to  11  p.m."  •  .  .  "The  regiment 
occupying  the  Three  Bock  Hill  was  a  fine  corps,  with  a  great  reputa- 
tion, and  they  showed  great  nerve  by  withholding  their  fire  until  we 
drew  very  dose  indeed.  ...  It  was  the  Alexander  Third  BegimenU 
The  enemy's  dead  gave  proof  that  they  had  freshly  arrived  from 
Europe,  as  their  skins  were  quite  delicate  and  white,  not  at  all 
tanned  as  yet  by  the  hardships  of  campaigning.  They  wore  long 
frockooats,  which  were  absolutely  new  and  unsoiled,  and  on  their 
shoulder  straps  there  was  a  crown."  ..."  The  enemy  still  clung  to 
the  rocky  parts  of  the  hill  and  to  the  temple,  and  the  firing  continued 
as  heavily  as  ever,  more  especially  from  the  village.  Major-General 
Marui,  commanding  a  brigade,  was  wounded  here,  and  the  standard 
bearer  of  the  Himeji  Regiment  was  killed.  Another  officer  seized 
the  standard,  and  he  was  also  shot.  Then  Colonel  Tasumura,  com- 
manding the  regiment,  took  it  up,  and  in  his  turn  he  fell,  being 
struck  by  a  bullet  from  the  wall.  Thus  there  was  no  one  left  to 
command  at  this  point,  the  colonel  of   the  next  regiment  being 


214  A  Staff  Officbb's  Scrap-Book 

attack  on  Three  Rock  Hill,  and  Okasaki  has  lost  an 

equal  number  in  the  day  attack  on  Temple  Hill.     But 

the  majority  of  Okasaki's  losses  took  place,  it  seems, 

after  he  had  captured  the  hill  and  were  caused  by  the 

Russian  artillery  opening  from   east  and  west  (as  I 

saw  them  last  evening)  on  the  men  who,  in  delivering 

their  assault,  had  closed  in  on  the  hill,  and  then  stood 

crowded  upon  it. 

It  is  very  difficult,  therefore,  to  argue  from  the 

respective  losses  suffered  or  results    gained    which 

further  to  the  east.  Then  there  occurred  an  incident  of  some 
interest.  The  adjutant  of  the  brigade  met  the  adjutant  of  the  regi- 
ment and  discussed  the  situation  with  him.  They  agreed  that  the 
village  must  be  carried  at  once  and  at  any  cost,  as  a  prolongation  of 
the  struggle  would  result  in  an  excessive  number  of  casualties.  So 
they  called  out  loudly  in  the  night,  **  Is  there  any  one  here  who  will 
leap  into  that  village  and  set  it  on  fire  ?  "  Out  dP  the  darkness  came 
the  reply,  ^'  I,  Oaptain  Sumida,  will  command  the  troop  which  is 
determined  to  die ;  who  will  follow  me  ?  "  And  nearly  200  men 
closed  in  to  his  call  and  put  themselves  under  his  orders.  All  of  the 
leading  men  were  shot  or  bayonetted  from  behind  the  wall  as  they 
came  up  to  it,  but  others  managed  to  dimb  it  and  set  fire  to  several 
houses.  Amongst  these  houses  they  found  a  wounded  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  enemy,  who  was  so  badly  hit  that  he  could  only  stand 
with  difficulty  when  he  was  put  upon  his  feet.  They  told  him  that 
the  whole  Division  was  now  round  the  village,  and  that  one  part  was 
taken  and  another  part  in  flames,  so  that  he  should  go  to  the  comer 
where  fighting  was  still  going  on  and  order  his  men  to  surrender. 
He  refused  however,  saying, '  I  have  orders  to  hold  the  village  to  the 
last,  and  therefore  cannot  surrender ! '  Near  by  they  captured  a 
non-commissioned  officer,  and  said  the  same  to  him.  He  went  into 
the  village  and  spoke  loudly  to  his  men.  At  the  same  time  the 
houses  took  fire.  Whether  it  was  because  of  the  confiagration  or 
from  what  the  non-commissioned  officer  told  his  men,  we  cannot  say, 
but  the  Bussian  firing  from  the  village  ceased.  At  5  a.m.  the 
Russians  were  still  to  be  found  in  places.  They  fought  bravely ;  in 
fact,  some  remained  hidden  in  the  temple  caves  and  crannies  of  the 
rocks,  and  even  in  the  Chinese  water  jars,  and  fired  when  the 
Japanese  soldiers  approached.** 


The  Battl»  Continues  215 

method — the  day  or  the  night  attack — ^proved  most 
successful.  The  highly-placed  critic  I  have  quoted 
seems  very  confident  that  Okasaki  is  to  be  praised  for 
having  staked  all  on  a  bold  attack  in  broad  daylight. 
So  be  it.  But  war  is  an  uncertain  game,  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  a  couple  of  machine  guns  on  Terayama 
and  a  quick,  capable  battery  commander  at  Sankwai- 
sekisan  might  have  changed  the  verdict  which  will 
now  probably  be  pronoimced  by  history,  and  have 
handed  down  Okasaki  to  posterity  as  having  been  over 
confident,  whilst  the  prudence  of  the  Fourth  Army 
Commander  would  have  been  held  up  as  an  example 
to  be  commended. 

One  more  point  before  I  quit  Terayama.  In  former 
wars  I  have,  in  common  I  suppose  with  other  com- 
manders of  any  experience,  often  had  occasion  to  long 
for  cavalry  to  launch  at  the  enemy  during  some  crisis 
of  the  struggle.  Throughout  the  Manchurian  campaign 
such  a  thought  has  hitherto  never  once  occurred  to  me. 
Neither  infantry  has  the  slightest  idea  of  permitting 
itself  to  be  hustled  by  mounted  men,  and  it  has  been 
apparent  to  the  meanest  military  capacity  that  the 
cavalry  could  not  influence  the  fighting  one  way  or 
another  except  by  getting  off  their  horses  and  using 
their  rifles.  But  yesterday,  when  I  saw  Okasaki's  men 
streaming  across  the  plain,  in  what  I  might  call  ordered 
disorder,  the  whole  of  each  individual's  faculties  and 
energies  concentrated  on  the  enemy  in  front,  I  felt  for 
the  first  time  that  a  few  Bussian  squadrons,  adroitly 
led  to  within  half  a  mile  of  the  left  flank  of  the  charg- 
ing Japanese  might,  by  a  combination  of  good  luck  and 
good  guidance,  have  struck  Okasaki's  Brigade  a 
staggering  blow  whilst  it  was  straining  every  nerve 
and  muscle  in  mid  career  against  the  rival  infantry. 


216  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Obviously  mere  bravery  and  dash  would  not  have 
sufficed  for  the  commander  of  such  a  fire-eating  venture. 
To  succeed  he  must  have  been  a  man  who 
was  capable  of  keeping  his  cool  touch  on  the 
fevered  pulse-beats  of  opportunity  until  he  felt  the 
fateful  second  had  arrived ;  then,  flinging  caution  and 
judgment  to  the  winds  he  must  have  had  a  big 
heart,  iron  nerve,  and  the  devotion  of  his  men  to 
enable  him  to  spur  out  of  his  ambush  full  tilt,  not 
alone,  but  followed,  as  if  he  were  a  queen  bee  leading 
her  swarm,  by  all  his  galloping  squadrons.  A  rare 
type  of  man,  and  that  is  one  reason  amongst  many  why 
successful  cavalry  charges  were  not  exactly  of  every 
day  occurrence,  even  in  muzzle-loading  days. 

My  only  excuse  for  this  excursion  into  the  misty 
realms  of  might-have-been  is  that  all  yesterday  it 
was  positively  painfiil  to  see  masses  of  Russian  cavalry 
sitting  idle  in  their  saddles  looking  on  whilst  their 
infantry  and  guns  were  fighting  so  hard  and  so  weU 
that  it  seemed  as  if  even  a  few  hundred  carbines  or 
rifles  must  have  sufficed  to  turn  the  scale. 

To  return  to  Okasaki.  That  best  and  cheeriest  of 
Brigadiers  has  been  busy  all  night  improving  upon  his 
success  of  yesterday  evening.  The  capture  of  Tera- 
yama  was  not  fiilly  completed  until  midnight  as,  after 
dark,  there  were  two  Bussian  counter-attacks,  which 
were  easily  repulsed,  although  if  they  had  come  on 
whilst  some  of  the  garrison  was  still  holding  out  on 
the  northern  point  of  the  ridge,  they  might  have  been 
exceedingly  dangerous.  There  was  also  a  good  deal 
of  desultory  fighting  between  a  Russian  regiment, 
which  advanced  westwards  from  Sankashi  as  it  grew 
dusk  with  a  band  playing  at  its  head,  and  the  29th 
Begiment  of  the  Second  Division.     This  combat  also 


mm^^'^^^'m-.^-^r^^^^m^mmmf^mw^mm'mmmmf^m^^tl^m^^^lf^l^^^mt^i^mmir^mmtfm^^fBm 


The  Battlb  Continues  217 

ceased  about  midnight,  apparently  by  mutual  con- 
sent. 

By  4  A.M.  Okasaki's  Brigade  was  concentrated  in 
Sankashi  village  and  started  off  to  attack  the  round 
hill  called  Suribachiyama  *  by  the  Japanese,  who  do 
not  display  much  more  originality  than  the  Boers  in 
their  nomenclature  of  their  landmarks.  His  men  were 
just  in  the  nick  of  time  to  anticipate  the  Russians  who 
were  marching  up  in  the  darkness  from  the  western 
valley  and  some  sharp  fighting  ensued  in  which  the 
Japanese,  being  in  possession  of  the  crest  line,  had  the 
advantage.  Meanwhile,  the  30th  Eegiment,  which  had 
been  detached  to  capture  Nanzan,  had  taken  it  without 
trouble  {see  Sketch  XXVI.).  At  dawn  they  had  handed 
over  their  prize  to  the  Fourth  Army  and  marched  round 
in  a  south-easterly  direction  to  take  post  in  rear  of  the 
centre  of  their  own  brigade,  t  The  highest  mountain  of 
the  group,  due  north  of  Suribachiyama  is  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  Russians,  but  every  one  hopes  that 
Okasaki  will  soon  have  gained  possession  of  it.  He 
has  now  taken  all  the  outworks  of  this  mountain ; 
Terayama  on  the  south,  Nanzan  on  the  west,  the  rocky 
ridge  and  saddle  on  the  west  and  south-west,  and 
Suribachiyama  on  the  south.  There  is  only  the  one 
parent  mountain  left,  and  then,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  the  officers  here,  we  ought  to  have  a  clear 
run  in  northwards.  With  luck  we  may  then  cut  off 
the   enemy  who,  under   Stakelberg,  are  still  causing 

*  '*  Rioe  Morfcar  Hill,"  a  name  also  given  to  one  of  the  moat  im- 
portant points  in  the  Russian  defensive  line  on  the  North  bank  of 
the  Yalu.    See  Vol.  I. 

t  This  small  plan  gives  a  better  idea  than  any  description  of  the 
precise  situation  at  the  hour  these  notes  were  written,  namely, 
between  9  and  10  a.m.  The  Bussians  on  the  hill  north  of  Suribachi- 
yama, afterwards  called  Okasakiyama,  were  supported  by  comrades 


218  A  Staff  Opficee'b  Sc&Af-BooK 

every  one  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  concerning  Fenchiho 
and  our  right  flank. 

Due  north  of  our  coal  mine  hill  then  the  battle  i^ 
assuming  a  most  favourable  complexion.  North-east 
the  prospects  seem  equally  fair.  Matsunaga,  whose 
Third  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  seemed  so  com- 
pletely brought  to  a  standstill  wheu  I  quitted  the  field 
last  night,  has  now  carried  the  great  and  formidable 
mountain  of  Sanjoshisan.  The  assault  was  made  at 
7  o'clock  last  night,  and  he  did  not  win  undisturbed 
possession  until  afler  a  series  of  dubious  and  bloody 
encounters  which  endured  until  1  A.U.  At  dawn  he 
descended  the  northern  slopes  of  Sanjoshisan,  and  is 
holding  a  village  on  the  southern  edge  of  the 
Kamiriuka  valley.  He  is  now  under  orders  to  cross 
the  open  and  attack  the  enemy  lining  the  opposite 

on  Round  Top  Hill  and  by  batteries  nortb-e&at  of  Shotatsuko  and 
between  Sekibioshi  and  Hamataog.  In  fact,  they  were  so  strongly 
fixed  in  their  poBition  that  Okasaki  did  not  dare  tackle  it  until  he 
oonld  get  more  help  from  his  artillery,  and  no  further  progrese  was 
made  in  thia  part  of  the  field  during  October  12. 


The  Battle  Continubs  219 

hills.  Verily  the  Japanese  Commanders*  do  not 
hesitate  to  make  calls  upon  the  endurance  of  their 
troops.  Matsunaga's  brigade  had  stood  to  its  arms  all 
the  night  of  the  lOth-llth  ;  on  the  11th  it  had  been 
the  whole  day  under  fire,  and  had  been  very  hard  put 
to  it  to  hold  its  own ;  it  had  carried  the  combat  on 
into  the  next  night  and  had  stormed  a  formidable 
mountain,  stubbornly  held.  Now,  the  hardly  tried 
brigade  was  to  advance  across  a  valley  even  more  open 
and  spacious  than  that  traversed  by  Okasaki  yesterday, 
and  to  dislodge  the  Russians  lining  the  opposite  hills ; 
surely  as  difficult  and  dangerous  a  task  as  any  soldier 
has  ever  been  asked  to  undertake. 

At  8.35  a  message  was  brought  in  by  an  orderly 
from  General  Asada,  Commanding  the  Guards  Division. 
In  it  he  announced  that  his  left  brigade  under  General 
Watanabe  had  as  good  as  taken — "  surely  took,"  was 
the  exact  expression — ^the  northern  continuation  of 
Hill  238  as  well  as  Hakashi  village.  The  message  had 
been  despatched  at  6.30  A.H. 

At  9.15  an  adjutant  of  Asada's  arrived  with  con- 
firmatory information.  He  had  left  his  General  at 
about  half  past  seven.  He  bears  the  good  news  of  how 
Watanabe  carried  the  Bussian  position  opposite  him  by 
a  combined  frontal  and  flanking  movement.  It  seems 
that  at  2.30  A.M.  Watanabe  sent  off  the  4th  Guards 
Regiment  to  make  a  circuitous  march  eastwards  and 
debouch  on  to  the  big  Kamiriuka  vaUey,  where  they 

*  This  order  may  seem  to  clash  with  the  orders  issued  yesterday 
evening  at  6  p.m.,  under  which  MatsuDaga  was  to  move  eastwards 
along  the  front  of  the  left  wing  of  the  Twelfth  Division.  But  it  was 
obviously  impossible  to  move  down  the  Kamiriuka  valley  eastwards 
until  the  enemy  had  been  cleared  out  of  the  valley  itself  as  well  as 
from  the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains  on  the  north  which 
completely  commanded  it. 


220  A  Staff  Officer's  Sorap-Book 

were  to  capture  the  village  of  Hakashi,  and  thus 
threaten  the  retreat  of  the  Russians  who  were  about  to 
be  attacked  by  the  other  regiments  of  the  brigade.*' 
This  regiment  (the  3rd  Guards)  advanced  at  the  same 
hour,  2.30  A.M.y  to  drive  the  Russians  out  of  the 
position  which  they  had  held  all  the  previous  day  on 
the  prolongation  of  the  ridge  238.  The  point  marked 
238  (see  Map  XXXIII.)  is  the  southern  extremity  of 
a  long  razor-backed  ridge  running  north  and  south. 
The  Russians  were  holding  a  position  across  the 
ridge  with  their  flanks  well  thrown  back,  and  were 
only  some  300  or  400  yards  distant  from  Watanabe 
when   he  started  the  3rd   Guards  to  attack   them. 

*  As  I  subflequently  learnt,  Lieutenant-Oolonel  lida*,  commanding 
the  4th  Regiment,  marched  off  as  ordered,  but  got  hung  up  and 
delayed  by  some  bad  ground.  Before  he  could  extricate  himself, 
fighting  broke  out  between  the  ^rd  Regiment  and  the  Russians  on 
the  ridge  immediately  west  of  him,  and  random  bullets  wounded 
some  of  his  men.  Not  wishing  to  be  drawn  into  the  engage- 
ment, he  edged  more  away  to  the  east  and  by  4.80  in  the 
morning  debouched  into  the  broad  and  level  Kamiriuka  valley. 
He  now  formed  his  battalions  into  line  of  section  columns  at  twenty 
yards  interval  between  companies,  with  one  company  in  reserve, 
100  yards  in  rear.  In  this  formation  he  approached  Hakashi 
when  about  fifty  Russians  charged  out  at  top  speed,  cheering,  and  in 
the  half  light  got  within  twenty  yards  of  the  4th  Guards  before 
they  discovered  their  strength.  They  then  turned  and  ran  back  to 
Hakashi  village  for  their  lives,  pursued  by  the  whole  of  the  4th 
Guards,  who,  obeying  an  uncontrollable  impulse,  raised  a  mighty 
shout  and  pressed  into  the  village  at  their  heels,  fiy  the  time  the 
village  was  taken  it  was  daylight  and  a  company  of  Russians  on  a 
spur  above  it  opened  fire.  The  Japanese  did  not  reply,  but  stormed 
the  spur  with  the  bayonet.  lieutenant-Colonel  lida  now  noticed 
fugitives  from  the  direction  of  238  crossing  the  valley  to  the  west. 
Accordingly^  he  advanced  dose  up  to  the  village  of  Kamiriuka  and, 
forming  line  facing  west,  he  opened  a  heavy,  long  range  fire  on  the 
fngitLves  from  288  and  from  Hachimaki  Yama,  killing  large  numbers 
of  them. 


The  Battle  Continues  221 

One  battalion  *  moved  down  the  valley  to  the  east  of 
the  heights  held  by  the  enemy  with  orders  to  turn 
westwards  up  the  steep  hillside  as  soon  as  they  got 
level  with  their  position.  It  was  hoped  that  they 
would  thus  be  enabled  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the 
Russians.  Simultaneously  another  battalion  was 
directed  to  bear  right  down  upon  the  enemy  in  two 
parallel  columns  of  route  by  fours.  The  columns 
moved  northwards  on  either  side  of  the  very  narrow 
crest  line,  and  were  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  yards 
apart.  The  head  of  each  colmnn  of  route  was  covered 
by  one  section  moving  in  single  rank  a  few  yards  in 
advance  of  it.  When  the  covering  section  got  within 
100  yards  of  the  enemy  they  were  fired  upon,  and  then 
the  columns  deployed  and  returned  the  fire.  The 
young  officer  says  that  at  one  time  no  one  knew  how 
the  fight  was  going  to  end.  There  was  terrible  con- 
fusion, and  the  company  commanders  had  lost  control 
over  their  men  who  were  broken  up  into  groups  firing 
in  every  direction,  whilst  Russians,  as  well  as  Japanese, 
were  rushing  about  anywhere  and  anyhow  with  their 
bayonets  at  the  charge.  I  can  imagine  that  in  a  mdlee 
of  such  a  description  the  Japanese  would  be  more  at 
home  than  any  European,  and  that  once  the  Russians 
broke  their  ranks  their  fate  must  have  been  sealed. 

It  will  be  weeks  probably  before  I  get  any  authentic, 
or  at  least  authorised,  account  of  the  action,  but  I 
find  more  and  more  as  I  go  on  the  value  of  a  note  put 
down  upon  the  spot.t 

*  I  heard  afterwards  that  the  fonnaiion  adopted  by  this  battalion 
was  line  of  oompanies  in  section  columns  with  one  company  as 
reserve  fifty  yards  in  rear. 

t  As  I  bad  correctly  surmised,  I  heard  no  more  about  Watanabe's 
attack  until  long  afterwards,  and  so,  to  make  the  story  complete,  I 
add  a  few  extracts  from  entries  made  on  a  subsequent  date.    Colonel 


222  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

At  10.15  a  &iend  on  the  staff  found  leisure  to  come 
and  have  a  short  talk.  He  said,  ''  I  never  have  the 
courage  to  bring  to  your  Excellency  anjrthing  but  good 
news,  as  you  always  write  down  whatever  I  say,  and 
it  is  a  sore  trial  to  see  misfortunes  chronicled  in  the 
note-book  of  a  friend."  I  replied,  "With  such  an 
army  as  Kuroki's  First  Army  I  do  not   think  you 

Hume,  attached  to  the  Guards  Division,  is  my  principal  authority. 
In  the  attack  made  by  the  drd  Guards  Regiment  on  the  RussiEOis 
holding  the  ridge  to  the  north  of  288,  the  battalion  which  moved 
down  the  eastern  valley,  and  then  marched  westwards  up  the  ridge 
endeavouring  to  turn  the  enemy's  left  flank,  bore  the  brunt  of  the 
fighting.  The  battalion  only  consisted  of  three  companies,  one  com- 
pany being  brigade  reserve.  As  soon  as  their  leader  began  to  dimb 
the  ridge  he  was  fired  into  at  a  range  of  less  than  100  yards.  There- 
upon an  order  was  given  to  the  two  leading  columns  of  sections  to 
deploy  into  line,  the  reserve  company  remaining  in  column.  After 
firing  three  volleys  the  Japanese  charged  with  the  bayonet,  but  were 
repulsed  after  a  severe  struggle.  The  men  fell  back  just  below  the 
shelter  of  the  steep  crest-line  and  waited  at  about  ten  paces  distance 
from  the  Russians  to  recover  themselves  for  a  fresh  effort.  The 
reserve  company  was  brought  up  to  reinforce  the  centre,  and  then  a 
second  charge  was  made.  This  attempt  also  was  repulsed  after  a 
peculiarly  bitter  and  prolonged  fight  with  bayonets  and  hand 
grenades.  The  Japanese  say  that  never  since  their  Civil  War  have 
they  been  met  with  equal  determination.  One  section  had  been 
kept  in  hand  to  guard  the  right  flank,  and  now  it  was  withdrawn 
and  sent  in  to  reinforce  the  centre.  It  was  the  last  chance,  but  it 
was  successful.  The  whole  line  rose  like  one  man  and  charged  with 
a  great  shout,  when  the  enemy  gave  way.  The  Japanese  here  lost 
ten  oflicers  and  200  men  out  of  a  total  of  about  600. 

The  4th  Guards  battalion  which  advanced  on  either  side  of  the 
crest  line  of  the  ridge,  in  double  column  of  route  by  fours,  was  not 
so  roughly  handled,  as  it  arrived  after  at  least  one  charge  had  already 
been  delivered  by  the  3rd  Guards. 

A  feature  of  the  fight  was  the  Japanese  trick  of  climbing  up 
quietly  under  the  steep  crest  and  seizing  the  projecting  Bussian  rifle 
from  which  they  wrenched  the  bayonet.  There  were  several  cases 
here  of  Russians  and  Japanese  who  had  simultaneously  transfixed 


The  Battle  Continues  223 

need  fear  that  my  note-book  will  be  anjrthing  but 
a  consistent  record  of  success."  From  the  conversa- 
tion which  ensued,  I  gather  that  Kuroki  is  in 
high  spirits.  He  is  specially  delighted  with  the 
Guards  ;  not  so  much  because  of  the  victorious  assault 
of  Watanabe's  brigade  on  the  left,  with  which  I  have 
just  been  occupying  myself,  as  with  the  unopposed 
advance  of  their  right  brigade,  under  Major-General 
Izaki,  to  a  position  which  threatens  the  retreat  of  the 
enemy  in  front  of  the  Second^Division.  The  destination 
of  this  column  had  been  the  hill  north  of  Menkaho, 
which  is  called  Sanjoshi  Tama."*^  The  order  issued  to  it 
was  coupled,  however,  with  a  caution  to  keep  touch 
with  Watanabe's  brigade.  As,  however,  Watanabe 
was  delayed  by  the  obstinate  resistance  of  the  Rus- 
sians, and  as  Izaki  encountered  no  opposition,  the 
latter  had  to  elect,  after  reaching  Menkaho,  whether 
he  would  hang  back  to  keep  touch  with  Watanabe  or 
press  forward  to  Sanjoshi  Yama.  He  chose  the  latter 
alternative  and  occupied  Sanjoshi  Yama  by  daybreak, 
and  by  doing  so,  of  course,  lost  all  touch  with  Watanabe 
who  had  not  yet  occupied  Hakashi.  He  is  now 
advancing  to  a  fresh  position  just  north  of  Kokorinsan 
and  Bajisan,  and  if  the  enemy  in  front  of  us  do  not 
make  haste  and  retire,  there  seems  to  be  a  good  chance 
that  they  may  get  caught. 

one  another  on  their  bayonets.  I  remember  the  same  thing  happen- 
ing in  the  Afghan  War.  The  dead  Japanese  and  Russians  lay, 
for  the  most  part,  in  two  distinct  lines  less  than  ten  yards 
apart. 

The  BoBsian  trenches  were  not  worthy  of  the  name,  being  merely 
slight  scrapings  along  the  crest-line  involving  ten  minutes  work. 
Had  their  entrenchments  been  more  thorough,  it  is  very  doubtful  if 
Watanabe  could  have  succeeded. 

*  To  be  distinguished  from  Sanjoshisan.    Sw  Map  XXXIII. 


224  A  Stapf  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

At  this  moment  our  talk  was  interrupted  by  the 
sending  of  a  message^  which  was  for  a  Japanese  almost 
an  angry  message,  to  the  artillery  to  our  front  to 
open  a  heavier  fire.  Captain  Saigo  simply  flew  down 
the  hill  with  this  order.  My  friend  then  resumed, 
^^The  enemy  are  decidedly  beginning  to  fisdl  back 
upon  Mukden ;  we  are  annoyed  because  the  commanders, 
and  especially  the  guns,  are  too  cautious  in  pressing  their 
advantage.  We  can  plainly  see  the  commencement  of 
the  retirement,  but  brigadiers  are  slow  to  grasp  the  situa- 
tion, and  the  artillery  are  worse.  Here  are  the  Bussian 
batteries  by  Benkwasan  and  Domonshi  firing  freely  at 
Matsunaga's  brigade,  and  our  artillery  does  not  bestir 
itself  I "  I  asked  if  I  was  correct  in  my  conclusion  that 
the  Japanese  guns  were  overmatched  yesterday.  The 
reply  was  to  the  effect  that  the  artillery  had  fully 
expected  Matsunaga  would  have  captured  Sanjoshisan 
mountain  before  daylight,  and  had  got  out  of  their  gun- 
pits  and  taken  up  a  position  in  the  open  on  that  sup- 
position. When  they  found  that  Sanjoshisan  was  still 
in  Bussian  hands,  they  had  to  get  back  into  their  gun- 
pits,  a  proceeding  which  took  them  a  long  time. 
"  However,"  continued  my  mentor,  "  that  is  no  suffi- 
cient excuse.  We  had  seven  batteries  of  field  guns 
here  yesterday,  and  if  they  had  been  boldly  and  wisely 
handled  they  ought  to  have  been  able  to  have  accom- 
plished something  considerable.  Okasaki  yesterday 
lost  over  1000  men ;  Matsunaga  over  600,  and  I  verily 
believe  that  a  smarter  and  bolder  use  of  our  artillery 
might  have  saved  us  many  of  these  casualtiea  The 
Twelfth  Division  and  Umezawa's  brigade  have  been 
having  even  more  desperate  fighting  than  Okasaki 
and  Matsimaga.  They  have  lost  1800  men  or 
thereabouts,  but  I  will  tell  you  about  this  later  on." 


The  Battlb  Continues  225 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Japanese  guns  are  so  deeply 
dug  into  the  ground  that  they  have  become  ahnost  as 
immobile  as  guns  of  position.  They  take  &r  too  long 
in  getting  in  or  out  of  their  pits,  and  I  think  the  habit 
of  entrenching  imposed  upon  them  by  the  superiority 
of  the  Bussian  artillery  is  tending  to  lessen  their  initia- 
tive and  audacity. 

At  10.40  a  junior  staff  officer  came  and  spoke  to  me 
most  kindly,  giving  me  his  views  on  the  situation.  He 
is  very  hopeful  that  we  will  succeed  in  capturing  the 
Russian  guns  to  the  north  of  Shotatsuko.  He  points 
out  to  me  that  the  Fourth  Army  on  Nanzan  is  now  due 
^  of  them :  that  »Ut»n.g.%riU  be  within  dK»ting 
distance  to  the  south-west  of  them  as  soon  as  he  suc- 
ceeds (as  no  one  seems  to  doubt  he  will)  in  crossing  the 
valley,  and  that  Watanabe's  Guards  are  due  east  of 
these  guns,  whilst  the  Guards*  right  brigade  under  Izaki 
are  actually  to  the  north-east  of  them.  In  fact,  with 
any  luck,  Matsunaga's  attack,  when  it  comes  off,  will 
throw  the  Russians  right  into  the  arms  of  Izaki's  brigade 
of  Guards,  who  are  by  now  probably  at  Bajisan,  whence 
they  can  easily  move  across  to  Renkwasan,  and  thus 
capture  not  only  the  guns,  but  also,  very  likely,  the 
bulk  of  the  infantry.  My  informant  seems  to  feel 
that  the  Japanese  artillery  is  not  doing  as  much  as 
it  might  do.  He  has  a  strong  theory  that  the  guns 
of  the  defence  must  employ  direct  fire.  Otherwise 
he  does  not  think  they  can  coiTOct  range  and  fuse 
quickly  enough  to  cope  with  a  sudden  and  rapid 
advance.  On  the  other  hand,  he  thinks  the  guns  of 
the  attack,  when  opposed  by  artillery,  must  always 
fire  indirect.  They  have  no  difficulty  about  rapid  changes 
of  range,  as  the  defence  line  remains  stationary,  and 
II  p 


226  A  Staff  Officbb's  Sceap-Book 

if  they  attempt  to  come  into  action  within  view  of 
quick-firing  artillery  already  in  action,  they  would  be 
destroyed  before  they  could  fire  a  shot.  The  theory 
is  plausible.    I  must  think  about  it. 

11  A.M. — For  the  past  hour,  including  all  the  time 
my  friends  have  been  speaking  to  me,  a  brigade 
of  the  Second  Division's  artillery,  posted  east  of 
Hanlasanshi,  and  two  batteries  belonging  to  the 
Guards  in  action  near  Hakashi,  have  been  expending 
much  ammunition  in  their  efforts  (not  suflficiently 
strenuous  according  to  Headquarters)  to  silence  the 
Bussian  guns.  They  have  succeeded  in  overpowering 
one  battery  to  the  north  of  Shotatsuko,  but  the  remain- 
ing guns,  posted  near  Renkwasan  and  Domonshi,  are 
not  only  unsUenced,  but  cannot  be  diverted  from  firing 
at  Matsunaga's  brigade,  concealed  in  the  village  of 
Senkiujo.  (Map  XXXIII.)  Senkiujo  is  hidden  fi'om 
my  view  by  the  mountain  of  Sanjoshisan,  but  I  am 
told  there  are  numerous  walls  and  ditches  and  houses 
which  should  afford  good  cover  until  the  moment 
comes  when  they  must  emulate  Okasaki's  Terayama 
exploit  and  make  their  effort  across  the  broad 
Kamiriuka  valley. 

Whenever  there  was  a  moment's  pause  in  the  duU 
roar  of  the  cannonade,  I  could  clearly  catch  the  far-off, 
insistent,  drumming:  undertone  which  told  me  that 
long  lini  of  riflemen  were  striving  for  the  mastery, 
and  that  yet  another  great  moment  was  approaching. 
For  magazine  fire  cannot  go  on  indefinitely,  and  so, 
sure  enough,  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock,  Matsunaga 
made  up  his  mind  to  sUp  his  men  from  the  leash  and 
fietce  the  opeii  plain.  I  am  actually  cold-bloodedly 
siting  ..'l  ^tch  the  brigade  dihing  «r««  tZ 


The  Battle  Continues  227 

valley.  I  could  nob  have  done  so  much  yesterday,  but 
custom  aids  coolness.  The  right  and  centre  of  his 
attack  is  to  a  great  extent  concealed  from  me  by  San- 
joshisan,  but  I  can  see  the  left  almost  as  clearly  as  I 
saw  the  assault  of  Terayama  yesterday  evening.  The 
formations  are  much  the  same ;  that  is  to  say,  there 
appear  to  be  no  regular  intervals  or  alignment,  each 
man  running  on  the  devil-take-the-hindmost  principle^ 
and  concentrating  all  his  energies  on  being  the  first  to 
reach  the  enemy's  trenches.  The  Russian  artillery 
have  been  firing  indirect  at  a  range  of  some  5000  yards 
upon  Senkiujo  village,  and  agfain,  as  yesterday,  they  are 
much  too  slow  in  s^tching  on  to  the  attackbg  Japa- 
nese,  and  continue  to  send  shell  over  their  head  (pre- 
Bxunably  into  the  village  which  I  cannot  see)  long  after 
they  have  got  well  out  into  the  open.  Even  now — 
11.35 — ^when  they  do  change  their  objective,  the 
shrapnel  usually  bursts  too  high  and  is  too  scattered  to 
be  very  destructive.  On  one  particular  spot,  however, 
range  and  fuse  have  been  corrected  with  some  accu- 
racy, and,  as  if  acting  on  their  own  initiative,  but 
probably  in  consequence  of  orders  previously  given, 
the  little  running  groups  gave  this  danger  zone  a 
wide  berth  by  closing  in  to  the  right  hand  and  to  the 
left. 

It  strikes  me  that  the  character  of  this  assault  is 
even  more  completely  individualistic  than  in  Okasaki's 
attack  of  yesterday.  I  can  see  great  numbers  of  men 
fall,  presmnably  to  fire  or  to  get  breath  (as  I  do  not 
think  it  possible  that  so  many  can  have  been  hit),  and 
yet  I  never  notice  a  group  or  section  halt  and  lie  down 
together.  It  is  difBcult  to  be  sure,  as  the  moment  a 
man  lies  motionless  I  lose  sight  of  him,  but  I  think  the 


228  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scrap-Book 

bulk  of  those  who  drop  *  down  so  suddenly  must  rise 
again  very  shoij^ly  to  resume  their  advance.  Other- 
wise, there  would  be  gaps  in  the  scattered  crowd, 
whereas  the  men  composing  it  still  remain,  on  the 
whole,  very  evenly  distributed.  My  belief  is  that  the 
men  are  covering  the  half-mile  of  distance  which 
separates  them  from  their  enemy  in  several  rushes, 
but  that  each  man  chooses  his  own  moment  for  the 
halt. 

11.45. — ^I  am  sure  now  that  Matsunaga  is  not 
attempting  to  cross  the  valley  in  one  tremendous 
rush.  If  it  were  so  he  would  have  been  in  the 
Bussian  trenches  ere  now,  or  else  in  full  retreat, 
whereas  he  has  not  yet  made  his  effort  and  is  only 
two-thirds  of  the  way  across.  The  firing  is  very 
heavy. 

11.50. — ^The  foremost  of  the  Japanese  are  lying 
down  firing  at  about  250  yards  from  the  Bussian 
trenches,  which  are  on  a  knoll  just  north  of  the 
village  of  Zenshotatsuko.  {See  Sketch  XXIV.) 
Others  are  joining  them,  and  now,  for  the  first  time, 
the  attack  presents  the  normal  appearance  of  a  fairly 
thick  firing  line  with  a  loose  supporting  body,  I  can 
hardly  call  it  a  line,  some  200  yards  in  rear. 

11.55. — The  whole  of  the  firing  line  has  risen  like 
one  man  and  made  the  charge.  Simultaneously  the 
Bussians  are  clearing  out  and  falling  back  with  some 
precipitation  on  to  the  main  ridge. 

11.57. — The  Japanese  are  now  swarming  like  an 
army  of  ants  over  and  around  the  knoll  of  Zenshotat- 
suko.    Matsunaga  has  effected  his  lodgment  on  the 

*  The  losses  only  amounted  to  285,  so  it  is  not  possible  tliat  anj 
large  proportion  of  the  men  who  seemed  to  fall  on  October  12th 
were  hit. — I.  H. 


SCENF  Of 
HAM  D  TO  HAND    flOHTIttO 
rSIAWS         AT  DAWM     OCT.  1**^ 


5s 


Battle  of  the 


\    YAM  A   THE   RIGBT  OF  THE  JAPANE 
HAND   TO  HAND   FIGHTING  TOOK  PL. 


XXVIIl 


The  Battle  Continues  229 

hills  to  the  north  of  the  Kamriuka  valley.     One  more 
mighty  step  forward  has  been  made  I  * 

*  I  wrote  this  description  actually  on  the  spot  as  I  saw  it.  Long 
afterwards  I  saw  Matsnnaga  and  he  informed  me  that  hisattack  was 
normal,  except  that  he  had  forty  yards  interval  between  companies 
instead  of  six  yards.  He  had,  so  he  says,  two  battalions  in  the  first 
line ;  the  men  at  three  paces  interval,  and  the  interval  between  com- 
panies already  mentioned.  At  1500  yards  he  halted  seven  minutes, 
and  then  advanced  as  fast  as  the  men  could  run  to  800  yards. 
During  this  period  there  was  no  check  and  hardly  any  firing.  At 
800  yards  the  line  lay  down,  and  opened  magazine  fire  for  two 
minutes.  From  thence  onwards  he  advanced  by  rushes  of  companies. 
First  right ;  next  left ;  then  centre  double  company.  Between  800 
yards  and  the  position  the  supports  doubled  up  and  reinforced  whilst 
the  reserves  closed  in.  At  250  yards  from  the  position  there  was  a 
slight  check  for  half  a  minute,  when  the  charge  was  sounded  and  the 
knoll  was  rushed  with  the  bayonet. 

No  doubt  Matsunaga  is  correct  as  to  the  orders  issued,  but  the 
impression  I  received  was  one  of  far  greater  dispersion,  depth  and 
irregularity.  I  only  saw  the  advance  from  800  yards  onwards,  and 
then  only  the  left  di  the  line. — I.  H. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
OTA'S    SUN-FLAG 

Midday. — General  Kuroki  is  breakfasting  together 
with  His  Imperial  Highness  Prince  Kuni.  All  the 
Headquarters  are  in  high  glee ;  even,  for  them,  quite 
boisterous. 

12.45  P.M. — I  have  had  another  conversation  with 
an  officer  who  has  come  to  sit  by  my  side  and  is  in 
great  spirits.  He  says  that  an  order  has  just  been 
sent  to  Matsunaga  bearing  General  Kuroki's  con- 
gratulations, and  directing  him  to  march  east  as 
rapidly  as  possible  and  occupy  the  pass  at  ChosenreL 
(See  Maps  XXXIII.  and  XXXIV.).  If  he  can  succeed, 
he  will  then  find  himself  within  eight  and  a  half  miles 
of  the  line  of  retreat  of  the  enemy  under  Stakelberg 
and  Bennenkampf,  who  are  still  making  the  most 
determined  attempts  to  carry  the  Penchiho  defences  or 
to  break  through  the  Japanese  lines  by  the  Taling  or 
Tumenling  Passes  between  Penchiho  and  the  coal  mines. 
Nothing  will  bring  these  Bussians  back  so  rapidly  as  a 
good  thrust  by  Matsunaga  at  their  line  of  conmiunica- 
tions  (just  as  the  head  of  a  snake  must  perforce  shoot 
swiftly  round  the  instant  an  enemy  stamps  upon  its 
tail).  My  firiend  went  on  to  say,  "  The  heaviest  of 
the  fighting  has  taken  place  at  Penchiho,  where  Major 
Honda  and  his  small  force  have  been  winning  great 
glory.  Yesterday  morning  the  Bussians  delivered  a 
fierce  assault  under  a  covering  fire  from  our  captured 


3  i 


i 
1 


Ota's  Sun-flag  231 

outpost  of  Mingshan,  which  lies  within  eaay  rifle  shot 
south-eaat  and  commands  that  part  of  our  line.  The 
Russians  kept  trying  to  close  with  the  bayonet,  but 
Major  Honda's  battalion  was  just  able,  and  no  more, 
to  keep  them  off  with  fire.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
enemy  on  Mingshan,  who  were  fi^ee  during  the  conflict 
to  fire  directly  down  into  the  trenches,  our  losses 
would  have  been  trifling.  As  it  is,  they  have  been 
very  severe,  but  now,  this  morning,  the  bulk  of  the 
Twelfth  Division  and  of  Umezawa's  brigade  have 
arrived  as  reinforcements,  and  by  working  tooth  and 
nail  throughout  the  night  our  entrenchments  are 
completed.  It  is  well  that  it  is  so,  for  we  have  just 
got  a  despatch  giving  us  some  particulars  of  the 
greatest  assault  yet  delivered,  which  took  place  this 
morning  at  4  A.M.  The  Russians  made  their  main 
attack  at  the  very  same  spot,  under  protection  of  the 
covering  fire  from  Mingshan,  and  lucky  it  was  that 
instead  of  Honda's  one  weak  battalion  we  had  four 
strong,  fresh  battalions  ready  to  receive  them,  behind 
good  solid  fortifications  which  had  been  finished  just  in 
the  nick  of  time.  For  the  enemy  have  never  befoi'e, 
not  even  at  Manjuyama,  made  so  brave  an  effort. 
Above  all,  their  officers  behaved  nobly  and  led  the 
men  on,  running  out  well  to  the  front  and  waving 
their  swords  to  encourage  the  rank  and  file.  But  it 
was  no  use,  for  the  assaulting  formations  were  too 
solid  to  stand  against  our  deployed  line,  awaiting  them 
behind  a  well  -  constructed  parapet.  The  Russian 
battalions  were  in  quarter  column,  and  only  about 
one-eighth  of  their  men  could  have  used  their  rifles 
had  they  wished  to  do  so,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  they 
trusted  almost  entirely  to  the  bayonet." 

Such  a  conflict  calls  to  mind  the  advance  of  the 
Old  Guard  at  Waterloo,  and  it  seems  dear  that  many 


232  A  Staff  Offigbb's  Sgrap-Book 

of  the  Bussian  Corps  still  consider  a  rifle  rather  as  a 
convenient  staff  on  which  to  fix  a  bayonet  than  as  the 
deadliest  invention  and  prop  of  civilisation.  Who 
can  read  Milton's  '' Paradise  Lost''  without  wondering 
what  would  have  been  the  result  of  the  conflict 
between  the  embattled  Seraphim  if,  instead  of  those 
"  hollow  engines,"  long  and  round,  charged  with  old- 
feshioned  blax^k  powder,  Lucifer  had  suddenly  unveiled 
200  quick-firing,  smokeless  IS^  pounders.  Because 
Japanese  as  well  as  Bussians  occasionally  like  to 
revert  to  cold  steel,  do  not  let  it  be  forgotten  that 
Suvaroff s  saying  must  now  be  reversed  and  that  it  is 
the  bullet  which  invariably  makes  a  fool  of  the  bayonet 
provided  only  th,  «ggi  i.  pdled  by  .  prjtiarf 
marksman.* 

Continuing,  my  friend  told  me  that  the  latest  news 
from  Penchiho  was  to  the  effect  that  the  fury  of  the 
fighting  had  for  the  time  being  abated.  There  was, 
however,  desperate  work  on  hand  both  at  the  Taling 
and  Tumenling  Passes.  At  three  this  morning  a 
regiment  of  Bussians  approached  the  Taling  in  close 
formation,  but  were  easily  repulsed  by  the  fire  of  two 
guns  when  they  got  within  400  or  500  yards  of  the 
trenches.  At  5  A.  M.  a  regiment,  perhaps  the  same 
regiment,  attacked  a  table-topped  hill  f  300  yards  in 
advance  of  the  Japanese  position,  which  it  slightly 
commanded.  The  summit  was  held  by  an  outpost  of  one 
company,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  was  the  battalion 

*  Phrases  have  much  to  answer  for.  Often  things  only  contain  a 
half-truth  when  fresh  ooined,  and  in  oourse  of  time  these  half-tmths 
are  apt  to  become  wholly  false.  It  seems  to  me  sometimes  as  if  this 
childish  nonsense  about  the  bullet  being  a  fool  has  been  as  much 
responsible  for  the  misfortunes  of  Eussia  as  all  her  bad  diplomacy 
and  unsound  strategy  put  together. — I.  H. 

t  Galled  afterwards  Qunki  Tama,  or  Standard  Hill.  See  Sketches 
XXXL  and  XXXII.— I.  H. 


Ota's  Sun-flag  233 

commander,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ota,  with  a  reserve  of 
another  company  and  the  regimental  standard. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Ota's  adjutant  had  previously 
heen  adjutant  at  the  Military  College,  and  was  well 
known,  therefore,  in  the  army,  and  it  was  he  who, 
hearing  heavy  musketry  just  before  dawn,  ran  up  to 
the  top  of  the  hill  to  try  and  discover  the  cause  of  the 
alarm.  On  gaining  the  summit  he  saw  what  he  took 
to  be  a  line  of  his  own  men  showing  up  against  the 
sky-line,  and  got  within  thirty  yards  of  them  before 
he  discovered  that  they  were  Russians..  Hastily 
retreating,  he  informed  his  Commander  that  the  out- 
post had  been  overwhelmed,  and  that  the  position  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Dawn  was  now  breaking, 
and  disclosed  the  survivors  of  the  outpost  company 
still  standing  at  bay  half-way  down  the  hill  and 
exchanging  fire  with  the  Russians  on  the  crest-line. 

Taking  the  standard  in  his  hand,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Ota  advanced  to  reinforce  the  remnant  of  his  first 
company.  At  the  same  time  two  Japanese  guns, 
which  had  been  kept  back  in  rear  for  safety's  sake 
during  the  night,  had  resumed  their  day  position  on 
another  mountain  top  only  700  yards  distant  to  the 
north-west  of  the  pass.  From  thence,  at  a  range  of 
700  yards,  they  blazed  away  point  blank  with  shrap- 
nel, sweeping  the  confined  space  afforded  by  the  cap- 
tured hill-top,  upon  which  a  whole  Russian  battalion 
was  now  crowded  together.  But  Ota  had  no  idea  of 
waiting  for  the  artillery  to  have  its  full  effect,  and, 
holding  high  the  regimental  colour,  he  boldly  led  his 
two  companies  up  the  face  of  the  hill  in  counter-attack 
against  the  position  he  had  lost.  Inmiediately,  he  was 
hit  by  four  bullets,  and  had  just  strength  sufficient  in 
him  to  commend  the  standard  to  the  guardianship  of 
his  major,  who  also  fell  almost  at  once,  desperately 


y 


234  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

wounded,  but  handing  on  the  sacred  emblem  to  the 
adjutant,  who,  in  his  turn,  dropped  in  his  tracks  to  a 
Bussian  bullet.  Last  of  all  the  Imperial  ensign  passed 
down  to  the  hand  of  a  private  soldier  of  the  first  class, 
who  led  the  last  stage  of  the  assault  and  planted  the 
insignia  of  his  regiment  firmly  on  the  corpse-strewn 
sunmiit.  As  he  did  so,  full  in  the  face  of  the  Russians 
thirty  or  forty  paces  distant,  they  in  their  turn  gave  way. 
The  Japanese  pursued  to  the  crest-line  and,  looking 
down,  beheld  the  two  other  Bussian  battalions  coming 
up  the  hill.  Officers  and  men  of  these  reinforcements 
spread  out  their  arms  to  stop  their  fleeing  comrades 
and  shouted  to  them  to  stand  fast,  but  all  in  vain. 
The  fugitives  dashed  into  the  serried  ranks  of  their 
brethren  and  flung  both  battalions  into  inextricable 
confusion.  The  two  companies  fired  into  the  struggling 
mass  at  seventy-five  yards  range,  and  in  five  more 
minutes  the  victory  was  conclusive. 

Only  quick  decision  won  this  fight ;  quick  decision 
and  the  personal  heroism  of  Ota  and  his  officers.  Can 
war  be  altogether  bad  when  it  inspires  ordinary  men 
to  actions  so  touching  and  so  sublime?  No  true 
soldier  will  ever  hear  unmoved  the  tale  of  the  sun-flag 
of  Ota.  His  heart  will  surely  fill  with  thankfulness 
and  joy  as  he  thinks  of  the  passionate  devotion  to  the 
military  idea  which  stands  embodied  in  the  silken  rag 
now  streaming  to  the  winds  of  heaven  over  the  outpost 
of  the  Taling  Pass.  Long  may  that  brave  standard 
be  borne  at  the  head  of  a  gallant  regiment,  raising 
the  generous  enthusiasm  of  successive  thousands  of 
Japanese  recruits.  Long  after  its  lustrous  embroi- 
deries have  mouldered  into  dust  may  the  ideal  it  stood 
for  be  remembered  by  our  people  in  England.  May 
they  all  hear  the  story  of  Ota's  sun-flag  and  learn  at 
what  cost  this  morning  it  crowned  the  scene  of  conflict 


Ota's  Sun-flag  235 

where  it  waves  free,  the  symbol  of  a  mighty  empire 
and  the  very  incarnation  of  its  glory.  Dai  Nippon 
— ^Banzai !  * 

In  front  of  the  Tumenling  Pass  there  has  also 
been  some  very  severe  fighting,  and  victory  or  defeat 
seem  still  to  hang  in  the  balance.  Yesterday  there 
was  a  heavy  fire  action  in  progress  until  dark,  but 
nothing  very  decisive  was  attempted  on  either  side. 
To-day  at  4  a.m.  the  Japanese  position  was  attacked 
all  along  its  length  with  the  bayonet.  When  the 
last  news  came  to  hand  the  struggle  had  actually 
endured  at  close  quarters  for  two  mortal  hours,  and  it 
may  be  going  on  yet  for  all  we  know  to  the  contrary. 
The  Russians  when  repulsed  only  fall  back  a  dozen 
yards  or  so  into  the  dead  ground  below  the  crest-line, 
whence  they  throw  hand  grenades  into  the  trenches, 
whilst  the  Japanese  retaliate  by  hurling  great  rocks 
over  the  crest  and  down  the  slope  along  the  top  of 
which  the  Russians  are  lying.  At  one  place  the 
enemy  actually  succeeded  in  carrying  a  section  of  the 
trenches,  but  fortunately  this  part  of  the  position  was 
commanded  by  high  ground  at  close  range,  so  they 
were  forced  by  fire  to  evacuate  it  again.     My  infor- 

*  I  oonedder  the  Gunki  Yama  affair  to  be  a  very  typical  action. 
On  the  one  hand,  a  big,  unwieldy,  inert  regiment ;  and  on  the  otheri 
two  quick,  alert,  independent  companies.  Had  the  Bussian 
battalion  commander,  on  taking  the  summit,  at  once  detached  a  sec- 
tion to  either  flank  to  work  round  the  slopes  of  the  hill,  these  would 
have  mown  down  the  Japanese  as  they  advanced  up  the  ground  (dead 
from  the  summit)  to  the  assault.  Or,  had  the  regimental  commander 
at  once  moved  his  other  two  battalions  round  the  base  of  the  hill, 
instead  of  straight  up  it,  he  might  so  have  scored  an  important 
success.  But  the  idea  of  piling  together  men  on  a  small  space  of 
ground  to  make  it  secure  is  Spion  Kop,  vieux  jeitx  and  utterly 
damnable.  Ota  recovered,  although  one  of  the  four  bullets  which 
struck  him  had  pierced  his  chest.  He  received  a  fine  Eanjo  from 
Oyama. — ^I.  H. 


mr^mmm^^^mmmmmmmmmm^m^^r^^mmm^^m^m 


236  A  Staff  Officbr's  Scrap-Book 

mant  says  "  fortunately,"  for  he  imagines  that  if  it  had 
been  necessary  to  deliver  a  counter-attack,  "there 
would  have  been  literally  no  men  available  for  the 
purpose."  As  usual  Kuroki  remains  undisturbed, 
though  the  crisis  on  the  right  is  certainly  grave.  I 
presume  he  relies  upon  our  successes  here,  and 
on  the  impending  flank  movement  of  Matsunaga,  to 
neutralise  any  potential  Bussian  gains  in  the  Penchiho 
direction. 

There  is  no  news  to  hand  about  the  Russians  who 
crossed  the  Taitsuho  at  Weining  on  the  8th  instant.  But 
the  important  post  and  dep6t  of  Chaotao  is  probably 
out  of  immediate  danger  as  it  was  occupied  by  Prince 
Kanin  and  the  Second  Cavalry  Brigade  yesterday 
evening.  The  infantry  garrison  has  also  been  increased 
from  seventy  to  350  rifles  by  sweeping  in  all  the  odds 
and  ends  within  twenty  miles  distance.  The  Japanese 
have  had  extraordinarily  good  luck  with  their  cavalry 
brigade.  After  sending  them  to  Chaotao  they  seem 
for  once  to  have  lost  some  of  their  nerve,  and  to  have 
hesitated  to  risk  their  last  reserve  against  a  wide  turn- 
ing  movement.  A  counter  order  was  therefore  dis- 
patched, telling  His  Imperial  Highness  to  leave 
Chaotao  to  its  fate,  and  to  move  southwards  to  Shakan 
on  the  Taitsuho,  so  as  to  cover  the  rear  of  the  right 
wing  of  Kuroki's  Army.  The  message  miscarried,  and 
now  Prince  Kanin  and  his  cavalry  have  reached  Chao- 
tao, and,  humanly  speaking,  have  saved  it ! 

An  infantry  battalion  belonging  to  the  Twelfth 
Division  has  crossed  from  Penchiho  to  the  south  bank 
of  the  Taitsuho,  and  is  going  to  try  and  get  touch 
with  Prince  Kanin's  Cavalry,  so  that  they  may,  in 
concert,  operate  against  the  extreme  left  flank  of  the 
Bussians. 


,i  5 


Ota's  Sun-flag  237 

The  garrison  of  Penchiho  may  now  hope  to  be  fed 
by  its  own  line  of  communications.  Yesterday  the 
whole  of  its  supplies  had  to  be  sent  along  the  front  of 
the  First  Army.  Thus  even  a  minor  local  success  of 
the  Russians  along  the  front  of  the  right  of  the  Second 
Division,  the  Guards  or  the  Twelfth  Division  would 
have  resulted  in  the  complete  cutting  off  of  the  Penchiho 
supplies  of  ammunition  and  food. 

Taiyo  Village,  7  p.m. — During  the  rest  of  the 
afternoon  there  was  not  very  much  to  note  from  inde- 
pendent  observation.  Matsunaga  sent  back  at  3  p.m. 
to  say  he  could  not  possibly  march  eastwards  on 
Chosenrei  until  after  dark,  as  the  Russian  guns  com- 
manded the  whole  of  the  Kamiriuka  valley.  About 
the  time  this  message  was  received,  the  sound  of  very 
heavy  firing  came  from  the  north-east.  I  think  it 
must  be  caused  by  the  right  column  of  the  Guards 
assaulting  Bajisan.  I  saw  several  attempts  made  by 
Okasaki's  men  at  various  times  during  the  afternoon  to 
storm  the  highest  mountain  north  of  Shotatsuko,  but 
on  each  occasion  they  had  to  double  back  to  cover  very 
quickly  as  soon  as  they  had  reached  what  is  evidently  a 
very  deadly  zone  of  fire  at  about  150  yards  from  the 
summit.  These  abortive  attempts  were  not  made  by 
any  large  body  or,  apparently,  by  superior  order,  but 
merely  by  section  or  company  commanders  who  thought 
they  would  have  a  try  on  the  chance  of  finding  a  weak 
spot  through  which  they  might  penetrate. 

If,  however,  I  have  not  seen  much  since  Matsunaga's 
capture  of  the  rocky  knoll  north  of  Zenshotatsuko, 
I  obtained  an  intensely  vivid  and  interesting  account 
of  a  great  cavalry  success  near  Penchiho,  when  I  went 
to  say  good  night  half  an  hour  ago.  The  encounter 
took  place  this  morning,  and  sets  the  minds  of  all  the 


^^^ 


238  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Staff  very  much  at  ease  regarding  the  course  of  events 
in  that  part  of  the  field,  as  the  whole  of  the  1500 
Cossacks  under  Bennenkampf,  who  had  crossed  the 
Taitsuho  at  Weining  on  October  8  th,  have  now 
been  driven  back  eastwards,  and  conununications 
between  Penchiho  and  the  south  are  once  more  open. 
But  there  is  more  than  mere  relief  from  anxiety  to 
gladden  the  hearts  of  Kuroki  and  his  Staff  A  posi- 
tive brilliant  victory  has  been  achieved.  The  enemy 
have  been  struck  a  deadly  and  more  then  decimating 
blow,  and  to  add  to  the  intoxication  of  the  joyous 
tidings,  the  Corps  which  has  added  such  lustre  to  the 
arms  of  Japan  is  the  hitherto  misprised  Cavalry  which 
— last  but  not  least — was  led  by  an  Imperial  High- 
ness, the  dashing  Prince  Kanin. 

Although  Chaotao  lies  only  seventeen  miles  south  of 
Penchiho,  and  was  practically  undefended*  on  the 
9th  and  10th,  yet,  for  some  reason  which  may  be 
explained  hereafter  from  Russian  sources,  the  1500 
Cossacks  with  their  battery  of  Horse  Artillery 
attempted  nothing  decisive,  but  hung  about  between 
Penchiho  and  Chaotao  as  if  waiting  for  the  fall  of  the 
former  place. 

On  the  11th,  Prince  Eanin  with  the  Second  Cavalry 
Brigade  and  six  Hotchkiss  machine  guns  arrived  at 
Chaotao,  and  thus  anticipated  the  Cossacks  in  making 
a  raid  which  every  one  here  has  consistently  assumed 
they  must  make  if  only  for  the  reason  that  it  seemed 
80  easy  and  so  desirable  from  their  point  of  view,  so 
unpleasant  and  mortifying  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  Japanese. 

To-day,  at  3  a.m..  Prince  Eanin  marched  on  Penchiho 

(see  Map  XXXIY.).     At  the  Senkin  Pass  he  had  a 

*  The  garrison  consisted  of  seventy  infantry  soldiers. — I.  H. 


■■M9 


M 


w^ 


Ota's  Sun-flag  239 

skirmish  and  drove  the  Cossacks  back  northwards.  As 
I  have  akeady  noted,  the  Russians  in  their  attack  on 
Penchiho  had  been  trying  to  envelop  the  place,  and 
their  extreme  left  had  actually  worked  round  along 
the  river  Taitsu  due  south  of  the  defence  line.  Thus 
on  the  extreme  Japanese  right  the  defenders  were 
thrown  back  like  the  lower  part  of  the  letter  "  S " 
alone  the  tops  of  the  mountains  whose  slopes  ran 
down  into  the  river,  whUst  the  Eussians  with  their 
backs  to  the  river  and  their  faces  to  the  north  were 
half-way  up  the  slope  still  endeavouring  to  effect  a 
lodgment  on  the  crest-line.  After  the  skirmish  on 
the  Senkin  Pass,  the  Cossacks  fell  back  as  far  as  the 
Taitsuho,  where  they  still  interposed  between  the 
advancing  Japanese  cavalry  brigade  and  their  own 
infantry  who,  on  the  northern  bank,  were  busily 
engaged  with  the  defenders  of  Penchiho.  On  the 
nearer  approach  of  Prince  Kanin,  however,  the  Cos- 
sacks shifted  their  position  eastwards,  still  covering 
their  unconscious  infantry  so  far  as  to  forbid  the 
Japanese  cavalry  from  making  any  attempt  to  cross 
the  Taitsuho,  but  leaving  it  open  to  them  to  occupy 
some  high  ground  on  the  southern  bank  which  was 
within  effective  rifle  range  of  the  Bussian  Camp  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river. 

Prince  Kanin  is  not  the  sort  of  man  who  would  miss 
good  chances,  and  certainly  on  this  occasion  he  seems 
to  have  unhesitatingly  seized  the  ripe  gift  offered  him 
by  fortune.  Stealthily  manoeuvring  his  six  machine 
guns  into  position  on  a  high  and  broken  spur  which 
ran  down  to  the  water's  edge,  he  suddenly  opened  a 
hellish  rain  of  bullets  upon  two  Russian  battalions 
who,  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock,  were  comfortably 
eating   their    dinners.       In   less    than   one    minute 


240  A  Staff  Officbb's  Sobap-Book 

hundreds  of  these  poor  fellows  were  killed,  and  the 
rest  were  flying  eastwards  in  wild  disorder.  Next 
moment  the  Maxims  were  switched  on  to  the  Russian 
firing  Une  who,  with  their  backs  to  the  river  and  their 
attention  concentrated  on  Penchiho,  were  fighting  in 
trenches  about  half-way  up  the  slope  of  the  mountain. 
These,  before  they  could  realise  what  had  happened, 
found  themselves  being  pelted  with  bullets  from  the 
rear.  No  troops  could  stand  such  treatment  for  long,  and 
in  less  than  no  time  the  two  brigades  of  Russians  which 
had  formed  the  extreme  left  of  Stakelberg's  attack, 
were  in  full  retreat.  Altogether  the  six  Maxims  had 
accounted  for,  according  to  the  first  despatch,  1000  ; 
according  to  the  second  1300  Russians. 

It  would  be  rash  were  I  to  dogmatise  on  the  compara- 
tively scanty  and  entirely  one-sided  information  which 
is  all  that  is  at  present  available  to  me.  Primd  facie 
it  seems  strange  that  Rennenkampf  did  not  either 
elect  to  fight  to  the  last  in  order  to  deny  to  the  Second 
Cavalry  Brigade  any  ground  from  which  it  might  with 
impunity  molest  the  infantry  on  the  northern  bank  ; 
or  else  (if  he  felt  himself  unequal  to  the  task)  that  he 
did  not  at  least  send  word  to  the  infantry  down  in 
camp  by  the  northern  bank  of  the  Taitsuho,  warning 
them,  as  well  as  their  comrades  fighting  on  the  slopes, 
to  look  out  for  squalls.  Some  may  think  the  infantry 
should  have  had  their  own  picquets  thrown  out  on  the 
high  ground  along  the  southern  bank  of  the  Taitsuho, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  infantry  cannot  well  be 
blamed  for  supposing  they  were  safe  from  sudden 
surprise  in  this  direction  when  they  believed  themselves 
to  be  covered  by  1500  Cossacks  and  a  battery  ! 

I  ought  to  turn  in  so  as  to  be  fresh  for  to-morrow, 
and  yet  I  ought  also  to  write  for  several  more  hours  if 


Ota's  Sun-Flao  241 

I  wish  to  record  even  feebly  my  impression  of  this  day 
of  days. 

The  Japanese  are  doing  wonders — ^prodigies  almost 
— and  the  Russians  can  nowhere  resist  them.  Yet  I 
have  a  strange  feeling  as  if  these  Russians  were  like 
cotton  wool — ^very  soft  at  first,  but  getting  harder  and 
harder  as  they  are  pressed  and  pressed,  until  at  last 
the  force  which  is  squeezing  them  finds  it  has  got  hold 
of  a  solid  slab  of  gun-cotton,  unplastic  as  iron  and 
capable  of  exploding  with  terrific  violence.  Okasaki 
does  not  seem  able  to  carry  the  round  hill  north  of 
Shotatsuko  in  the  same  slap-dash  style  as  he  carried 
Terayama,  which  yet  appeared  to  me  far  the  stronger 
position  of  the  two. 

One  more  reflection.  The  Japanese  artillery  did  not, 
in  my  humble  opinion,  distinguish  themselves  to-day 
as  much  as  the  other  arms.  When  Matsunaga 
stormed  the  knoll  above  Zenshotatsuko  a  minute  or 
two  before  11  A.M.,  the  hills  to  the  north  of  it  were 
covered  with  retiring  Russian  infantry.  By  this  time 
the  Russian  guns  north  of  Shotatsuko  had  been 
silenced,  and  those  near  Renkwasan  and  Domonshi 
could  not  range  the  Japanese  batteries  {see  Map 
XXXin.).  With  better  signalling  arrangements 
and  good  horses,  I  think  that  the  Japanese  bat- 
teries might  have  galloped  up  to  effective  range 
of  the  retiring  infantry  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
of  the  commencement  of  their  slow  retreat  up  the 
slopes  of  the  mountains,  and  have  punished  them 
severely.  What  actually  happened  to-day  was  that 
a  message  was  sent  back  by  an  orderly  and  that  the 
artillery  began  to  move  forward  at  11.30  when  all 
the  retreating  infantry  were  already  getting  imder 
cover.     Even  then    the    guns    seemed    to    advance 

II  Q 


«■ 


242  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

desperately  slowly,  although  the  roads  were  good  and 
dead  level.  The  brigade  on  the  right  after  all  only 
advanced  300  or  400  yards  to  a  spot  under  Sanjoshisan, 
where  they  had  deep  gun -pits  ready  prepared,  and  this 
although  there  was  a  splendid  position  1000  yards 
further  on  where  they  might  have  shelled  the  enemy 
effectively,  instead  of  at  such  extreme  range  that  their 
shrapnel  bullets  could  have  had  no  velocity  remaining 
to  do  much  harm.  The  two  batteries  on  the  left  went 
almost  as  &r  as  Terayama,  where  they  came  into 
action  on  the  open  plough.  Their  advance  was  more 
pronounced  and  useful  to  the  infantry  than  that  of 
their  brethren  on  the  right,  but  even  so,  it  was  neither 
prompt  enough,  fast  enough,  or  bold  enough,  according 
to  my  ideas — ideas  which  are  shared,  unless  I  very 
greatly  mistake,  by  many  Japanese  officers. 

I  must  now  positively  turn  in.  Vincent  and  the 
foreign  attaches  with  the  Second  Division  are  here, 
and  have  spent  the  day  on  Terayama.  They  say  it  is 
covered  pretty  thick  with  Bussian  dead  and  wounded, 
mostly  middle-aged,  bearded  men.  On  several  of  them 
were  found  prayer  books  in  Russian  presented  by  the 
British  Bible  Society.  My  American  confrhre  says  that 
we  are  a  very  difficult  people  to  compete  against — we 
deal  out  Bibles  to  one  side  and  guns  to  the  other. 
Colonel  Hume,  who  has  been  with  the  Guards,  has 
witnessed  the  scene  of  Watanabe's  fight  which  I  have 
tried  to  describe.  I  have  got  the  facts  correctly 
enough,  so  it  seems.  He  saw  a  very  exciting  series  of 
incidents  where  two  Japanese  batteries  were  running 
the  gauntlet  of  fire  along  a  short  section  of  the  road 
between  Hakashi  and  Kamiriuka,  on  which  a  Russian 
battery  in  action  near  Domonshi  had  ranged  to  a  nicety. 
On  this  one  occasion  the  Japanese  drivers  managed  tQ 


// 


Ota's  Sun-Fijlg  243 

raise  a  gallop.  Each  gun  or  waggon  went  singly  and, 
as  it  reached  the  dangerous  spot,  sure  enough  the  rafale 
burst  all  round  it.  Finally,  the  old  forge  waggon 
came  lumbering  along,  and  the  shells  exploded  so  near 
to  it  that  the  horses,  accustomed  as  they  should  have 
been  by  now  to  any  sort  of  uproar,  took  fright  and 
bounded,  so  that  a  man  fell  off  the  tail-board.  He 
picked  himself  up,  however,  and  ran  off  as  if  the  devil 
was  after  him.  One  lead-driver  was  very  cunning :  he 
kept  the  comer  of  his  eye  in  the  direction  of  the 
enemy's  guns,  and  the  instant  he  saw  the  dust  of  their 
discharge,  pulled  up  dead,  twenty  yards  short  of  the 
danger-point,  and  thus  eluded  the  eight  shells  which 
spent  themselves  harmlessly  on  the  track  just  in  front 
of  his  team.  When  all  the  excitement  and  firing  was 
over,  the  casualties  were  checked,  and  it  was  found 
that  in  one  battery  only  seven  men  had  been  hit,  and 
in  the  other  ten  horses  ! 


^^^^m^^m^r^w^^^^^r^m^^^^^r^^w^m  w^    p*  -  ■    t-  ■  ■    t,  _r 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE   ASSAULT   OF  THE   TALL  HILL 

A  Hillock  just  North-bsast  of  Hanlasanshi, 
1  P.M.,  October  13th,  1904. — Last  night,  General  Kuroki 
issued  orders  for  a  general  pursuit  of  the  Russians,  and 
announced  his  expectation  that  the  Guards  Division 
would  be  able  to  press  them  back  to  the  south  of 
Hoshuho,  whilst  the  Second  Division  would  make  good 
Wasoko.  Commanders  were  enjoined  to  punish  the 
enemy  as  much  as  they  could  during  their  retirement. 
But,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  nothing  of  the  sort  has  taken 
place.  The  Headquarters  Staff  and  myself  have  pushed 
on  to  this  rocky  knoll  whence  we  should  get  an  extra- 
ordinarily good  view  of  the  advance  when  it  does  take 
place,  but  that  is  not  yet.  In  front  of  us,  just  out  of  rifle 
shot,  is  Okasaki,  apparently  in  precisely  the  same  posi- 
tion as  yesterday.  Not  a  yard  has  he  gained  during  the 
night,  only,  wherever  his  men  happened  to  be  at  sunset, 
they  have  now  deeply  dug  themselves  in.  The  Fourth 
Army  is  still  holding  Nanzan  and  attacking  Round  Top 
from  thence.  Suribachiyama,  the  ridge  joining  Nan- 
zan to  the  high  hill  to  the  east  of  it,  and  even  the 
south-west  skirts  of  the  high  hill  itself,*  are  in 
Okasaki's  possession,  but  its  summit  is  still  swarming 
with  Russians.  The  Japanese  have  a  battery  north  of 
Sanjoshisan  and  one  brigade  on  a  spur  south  of  Suri- 

*  Afterwards  called  Okasaki  Yama.    (See  Sketch  XXYI.)— I.  H. 


X   i 

i  I ' 


The  Assault  of  the  Tall  Hill  245 

bachiyama.  They  are  firing  on  the  high  hill.  From 
its  position  the  battery  near  Sanjoshisan  is  able  to 
some  extent  to  enfilade  the  Russian  line,  but  the  other 
three  batteries  are  firing  direct  and  cannot  at  such  a 
short  range  and  high  elevation  expect  to  do  much 
damage  to  men  below  the  crest.  Howitzers,  in  fact, 
are  badly  wanted  here.  Strange  to  say  the  Russian 
batteries  firom  positions  near  Benkwasan  and  Hama- 
tang  are  firing  either  at  Terayama  or  at  the  batteries 
south  of  Suribachiyama,  or  occasionally  in  our  direc- 
tion, but  take  no  notice  of  the  battery  just  north  of 
Sanjoshisan  which  must,  I  am  sure,  be  doing  a  lot  of 
damage.  Whenever  Okasaki's  infantry  attempt  any 
offensive  movement,  the  Russians  disregard  the  shells 
bursting  among  them  and  stand  up  to  fire,  so  far  with 
the  result  that  the  Japanese  cannot  get  on  at  all. 

Things  are  worse  with  the  other  brigade  (Matsu- 
naga's)  of  the  Second  Division,  from  which  a  long 
despatch  has  just  come  in  by  the  hands  of  a  Guards 
orderly.  At  7  p.m.,  by  which  time  the  shades  of 
evening  completely  hid  their  movements  from  the 
Russian  artillery,  they  started  for  Chosenrei  to  inter- 
cept Stakelberg's  retreat.*  The  rain  came  down  in  a 
perfect  deluge,  and  the  night  was  dismal,  stormy,  and 
dark  as  Erebus.  Slipping  in  the  icy  mud,  covered  up 
to  their  waists  with  layers  of  congealed  clay,  the 
gallant  fellows  stuck  to  it  until  5  this  morning, 
when  they  found  themselves  within  200  yards  of  the 
Russians.      They  have  made  two  assaults  which  have 

*  I  heard  afterwards  that  the  BussianB  did  apparently  suspect 
that  there  was  somethmg  in  the  wind,  and  made  a  sharp  counter- 
attack just  as  Matsunaga  was  starting.  Most  fortunately  it  was  not 
vigorously  pressed,  and  Matsunaga  was  able  to  repulse  it  and  continue 
his  march  with  only  half  an  hour's  delay. — I.  H. 


246  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

been  beaten  off  with  heavy  loss.  Matsunaga  sends  in 
to  say  he  is  going  to  try  again,  and  hopes  for  better 
luck  next  time.* 

From  the  far  right  at  Penchiho  the  news  is  more 
reassming.  The  Russians  are  in  full  retreat.  But  it 
is  a  retreat  as  unmolested  as  that  of  Liaoyang.     The 

*  At  Ghosenrei  (Pass)  there  is  a  very  steep  ascMit  of  150  feet 
up  a  narrow  ridge  which  blocks  the  valleys  east  and  west  {aee 
Maps  XXXIII.  and  XXXIY.).  After  the  repulse  of  Matsunaga's 
second  attack,  one  and  a  half  Bussian  battalions  appeared  from 
the  Shinkwailing  direction  and,  occupying  the  heights  on  the 
north  side  of  the  valley  up  which  the  Japanese  had  advanced, 
threatened  their  retreat.  Matsunaga  held  off  this  force  with  a 
portion  of  his  reserve,  and  with  nerve  and  indomitable  resolu- 
tion continued  his  assaults  against  the  pass.  The  slopes  were  so 
slippery  and  steep,  however,  that  his  tired,  mud-clogged  troops 
sustained  repulse  after  repulse  until,  in  the  evening,  two  RussiBn 
guns  coming  on  to  the  pass  opened  fire,  and  four  howitzers  appeared 
on  the  sky-line  near  the  Shinkwailing.  The  fighting  continued  until 
9  P.M.  and  firing  then  ceased.  Next  morning  the  Russians  had 
retired. 

This  night  march  and  the  bulldog  fight  at  the  end  of  it  were  a 
fitting  conclusion  to  Matsunaga's  exploits,  which  had  commenced  on 
the  morning  of  the  11th  and  had  gone  on  uninterruptedly  night  and 
day  since  then.  If  the  western  world  is  still  curious  to  know  the 
cause  of  the  Japanese  successes  in  the  field,  here,  in  the  conduct  of 
this  small  and  unsuccessful  operation,  the  secret  may  be  read  in 
epitome.  How  many  brigadiers  are  there  in  Europe  who  are 
sufficiently  confident  in  their  chief  and  in  themselves  to  accept 
responsibility  with  Matsunaga's  pertinacity  and  nerve.  After  an 
exhausting  night  march  up  a  long  valley,  he  met  the  enemy  posted 
across  the  head  of  it  and  twice  made  the  assault  without  success. 
He  then  saw  fresh  Bussian  troops  Uning  the  northern  heights  of  the 
valley  up  which  he  had  marched,  threatening  to  descend  and  cut  off 
his  retreat.  Did  he  fall  back?  Far  from  it.  On  the  contrary^ 
putting  away  fear,  he  redoubled  his  efforts  to  carry  the  pass  by 
assault.  I  admit  that  Sir  Frederick  Roberts  fought  the  battle  at 
Oharasia  under  precisely  similar  conditions,  except  that  the  Russians 
would  have  given  quarter  and  the  Afghans  would  not  But  Oharasia 
took  place  long  ago. — I.  H. 


The  Assault  op  the  Tall  Hill  247 

Twelfth  Division  and  the  Umezawa  Brigade  are  holding 
a  line  twelve  miles  long,  and  it  is  impossible  to  change  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  from  defensive  to  offensive 
formations,  especially  as  the  enemy  are  still  making 
some  show  of  attacking  at  the  Tumenling  and  Taling 
Passes,  where  a  heavy  bombardment  by  their  artillery 
is  even  now  in  progress.  The  Guards  are  endeavouring 
to  carry  out  Kuroki's  spirited  orders.  Asada  has 
ordered  his  right  column,  under  Izaki,  to  take  Bajisan, 
and  then  to  proceed  to  the  capture  of  Sensan,  a  big 
mountain  two  miles  to  the  north-west  of  it.  The  left 
column  under  Watanabe  is  to  attack  the  enemy  in  the 
bills  immediately  to  the  east  of  Domonshi. 

It  now  becomes  apparent  that  the  idea  of  counter- 
ing Kuropatkin's  attempt  to  turn  our  right  at  Fen- 
chiho  by  turning  his  right  and  driving  him  oflF  the 
railway  and  Mukden  into  the  mountains,  has  now 
been  definitely  abandoned.  We  are  actually  aiming 
at  something  bold  in  detail,  and  no  doubt  di£Bicult 
enough,  but  infinitely  less  comprehensive  and  con- 
clusive. There  are  two  schemes  simultaneously  in 
operation.  The  one  is  to  use  Matsunaga's  brigade  to 
intercept  a  portion  of  Stakelberg's  rearguard  by  cutting 
in  on  its  line  of  retreat  over  the  Chosenrei.  The  other 
is  (with  the  assistance  of  the  Fourth  Army  at  Nanzan, 
and  by  moving  the  Guards  from  Bajisan  to  Domonshi), 
to  envelop  both  flanks  of  the  Russians  who  are  fighting 
exactly  in  front  of  us  here.  If  this  is  successful  we 
miay  cut  off  their  retreat  and  perhaps  effect  an  impor- 
tant capture. 

1.50  P.M. — ^We  have  no  news  yet  from  the  Guards, 
but  I  now  see  troops  moving  along  a  ridge  some  four 
miles  to  the  east-north-east,  probably  about  Renk- 
wasan.       They    are    dodging    from    knoll   to  knoll. 


248  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

advancing  very  slowly  with  a  Japanese  flag  at  their 
head.  These  must  be  the  Guards.  I  can  also  see 
some  Russians,  apparently  only  300  or  400  yards 
distant  from  the  Japanese  standard,  and  shells 
from  the  Guards'  artiUery  are  bursting  freely  on  the 
open  hillside  between  the  two  forces.  No  doubt  great 
deeds  are  being  done  out  there,  but  when  individuals 
show  up  no  larger  than  a  pin's  head,  excitement  and 
sympathy  are  proportionately  reduced. 

2.20  P.M. — Kuroki  expressed  anxiety  about  the 
difficulties  which  were  delaying  Okasaki  in  his  attempt 
to  make  good  the  summit  of  the  tall  hiU  two  miles 
north  of  us.* 

2.30  P.M. — Far  away  I  see  some  200  Russians  making 
a  counter-attack  against  the  Guards. 

2.35  P.M. — They  have  not  got  very  far.  Not  more 
than  one  quarter  of  the  way  across  the  interval 
between  the  two  lines.  Still,  the  Japanese  cannot 
get  on. 

2.40  P.M. — ^At  several  points  brave  individuals  cariy- 
ing  little  flags  are  advancing  up  towards  the  summit 
of  the  tall  hill,  t  and  about  two  companies  have  worked 
man  by  man  to  a  small  under-feature  not  more  than 
150  yards  from  the  top  behind  which  they  are  squeezed 
together,  a  little  crowd,  lying  as  flat  as  they  can, 
whilst  over  their  heads  I  know  countless  bullets  unin- 
terruptedly sing  and  whistle  as  they  did  at  equally 
short  range  over  the  defenders  of  Waggon  Hill. 

2.55  P.M. — A  battalion  of  Russians  is  swarming  up 
a  spur  to  counter-attack  the  Guards.  The  General 
Staff  have  sent  an  adjutant  to  gallop  for  his  life  to 
the  Second  Division  Artillery  south  of  Suribachiyama, 
to  tell  them  to  turn  their  guns  that  way.     Before  he 

*  Okasaki  Yama.  f  Ibid. 


The  Assault  of  the  Tall  Hill  249 

had  gone  two  minutes  they  did  it  of  their  own  initia- 
tive, scattering  the  Bussians  a  bit,  but  not  checking 
them  altogether ;  and  now  I  believe  the  Guards  are 
beginning  to  fall  back. 

3  P.M. — On  the  tall  hill*  events  seem  to  be  approach- 
ing a  crisis.  All  the  Japanese  trenches  are  full  to 
overflowing,  and  still  men  keep  dashing  out  to  them, 
and  diving  into  these  overcrowded  gashes  on  the 
flanks  of  the  hill.  I  am  near  enough  to  distinguish 
the  officers  very  clearly  by  their  swords.  Several  of 
them  are  standing  up.  The  Russians  on  the  top  of 
the  hill  are  also  standing  up  to  fire  regardless  of  the 
bursting  shells  which  fall  by  dozens  at  their  very  feet 
and  conceal  them  from  view  sometimes  for  seconds  at 
a  time.  The  whole  of  the  Japanese  artillery  is  now 
blazing  for  all  it  is  worth  at  the  summit  of  the  hill. 
Three  of  the  batteries  are  in  action  close  by  Suribachi- 
yama ;  a  mountain  battery  is  firing  from  Nanzan,  and 
the  battery  just  north  of  Sanjoshisan  is  specially  busy, 
and  is  undoubtedly  doing  more  damage  than  all  the 
rest  put  together,  as  it  is  able  to  get  an  enfilading 
effect  and  to  throw  its  shrapnel  from  left  to  right  of 
the  Russian  line. 

The  Japanese  are  making  the  assault  I  verily  believe ! 
They  have  swarmed  out  of  their  trenches  and  have 
disappeared  over  the  brow. 

3.15  P.M. — ^A  company  has  succeeded,  at  least  for  the 
moment,  in  making  good  the  crest  of  the  long  spur  rim- 
ning  westwards  from  the  summit  {see  Sketch  XXVI.). 
But  as  soon  as  it  topped  the  ridge  it  was  met  by  a  tre- 
mendous fire  fi*om  Round  Top  Hill,  and  by  an  enfilading 
fire  fi*om  the  Russians  on  the  main  hill.t  It  seems 
impossible  that  the  men  should  hold  on,  but  they  do. 

*  Okaaaki  Yaina.  t  Ibid. 


■,Tf"jiw 


250  A  Staff  Officer's  Sorap-Book 

Suddenly  a  little  cluster  of  flags  breaks  out  into  spots 
of  colour  in  a  slight  depression  due  south  of,  and  not 
more  than  forty  or  fifty  yards  distant  fix)m.  the  actual 
summit!  The  effect  on  the  officers  aroimd  me  is 
electrical.  The  symbol  of  the  heroic  soul  of  their 
nation  is  almost  touching  the  ranks  of  the  Bussiana 
They  feel  that  actual  contact  with  their  talisman  must 
be  &tal  to  the  enemies  of  their  Emperor,  and  yet  they 
tremble  to  think  that  this  time  perhaps  it  is  decreed 
that  fortune  may  fail  them  at  the  last.  To  myself, 
the  anxiety  of  seeing  the  two  forces  within  stone's 
throw  of  one  another  is  almost  unbearable.  The 
Japanese  know,  I  presume,  where  they  have  got  to, 
but  I  doubt  if  the  Russians,  who  are  still  shooting 
down  the  hillside,  have  any  idea  that  their  enemies 
are  crouching  close  by  to  make  their  last  spring. 
Meanwhile,  another  company  has  advanced  straight 
up  the  southern  slope  to  within  150  yards  of  the 
defender's  line.  It  lies  down  to  fire,  but  there  is  no 
friendly  feature  of  the  ground  here  to  hide  it.  The 
Bussian  bullets  knocking  up  the  dust  cover  them  with 
a  light  haze.  They  can  endure  no  longer,  and  rush 
across  to  the  long  spur  running  westwards,  leaving  a 
trail  of  prostrate  bodies.  Here  they  fix  themselves  on 
to  a  part  of  the  crest-line  half-way  between  the  summit 
and  the  spot  whence  the  first  attempt  is  still  clinging 
on  and  exchanging  a  furious  fire  with  Bound  Top.  (See 
Sketch  XXVI.) 

3.30  P.M. — A  message  has  come  in  to  say  that  the 
Fourth  Aimy  on  our  left  has  entirely  defeated  the 
enemy,  who  are  flying  in  disorder. 

3.40  P.M. — ^The  two  companies  I  observed  at  2.40 
P.M.  lying  close  behind  an  under-feature  150  yards 
from  the  summit  have  sent  forth  a  little  forlorn  hope. 


SW>M< 


vrew  oi* 

THK 

:>  SHOWS  1 


The  Assault  op  the  Tall  Hill  251 

It  consists  of  less  than  100  men.  Most  gallantly  they 
advance  until  they  get  to  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
suniniit,  and  then  their  hearts  fail  them  and  they  rush 
desperately  down  the  hill,  leaving  their  dead  behind 
them.  At  the  same  time  the  Russian  shrapnel  from 
the  east-north-east  and  from  Hamatang  seems  suddenly 
to  find  then-  fellows  clinging  on  behind  the  under- 
feature.  The  spot  has  been  badly  shrapnelled  for  two 
minutes,  and  now,  instead  of  about  400  men,  there  are 
only  about  sixty  or  seventy  left,  the  rest  having  cleared 
off  down  the  mountain  side.  But  the  men  with  the 
flags  close  up  to  the  summit  are  still  holding  on, 
though  how  they  can  do  it  I  do  not  know,  as  the 
shrapnel  seems  to  be  bursting  right  in  their  faces. 

3.45  P.M. — ^An  adjutant  has  come  in  from  the  Fourth 
Army  saying  that  the  Tenth  Division,  which  was 
supposed  to  be  pursuing  the  badly  defeated  Russians, 
has  suffered  a  severe  repulse.  The  Staff  are  bewildered, 
and  do  not  quite  know  what  to  believe.  At  the  same 
time  another  despatch  has  come  in  from  Matsunaga  at 
Chosenrei  to  say  that  all  his  repeated  assaults  have 
failed,  and  that  he  is  being  surrounded  by  the  enemy. 
The  Guards  contribute  their  quota  of  ill  news,  for  not 
only  has  their  famous  encircling  movement  been  brought 
to  a  full  stop,  but  their  right  column  has  been  virtually 
defeated,  and  orders  for  its  retreat  were  issued  at 

2  P.M. 

Amidst  all  this,  Kuroki  keeps  a  stiff  upper  lip 
and  only  says  it  is  the  more  imperative  we  should  carry 
the.  tall  hill  *  to  our  front.  A  staff  officer  remarks, 
"  The  whole  of  the  First  Army  is  in  difficulties,  but 
presently  Okasaki  will  put  everything  right."  All  the 
same,  an  appeal  for  help  has  been  made  to  Oyama,  and 

*  Okasaki  Yama. 


252  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

he  has  responded  like  a  noble  Samurai,  putting  the 
Manchurian  Army  Reserve  at  our  disposal,  and  now  it 
is  marching  here  just  as  fast  as  its  legs  can  carry  it 
over  the  ground. 

4.45  P.M. — ^The  hour  is  at  hand.  Beneath  my  strong 
glasses  the  Japanese  in  the  little  hollow  just  below  the 
summit  seem  to  stir  uneasily  and  to  prepare.  On  to 
the  narrow  space  which  separates  them  from  the 
Russians  the  guns  of  both  armies  are  pouring  out 
shell  by  the  hundred.  The  shell  drop  earthwards  in 
rattling  thunderclaps,  releasing  the  awful  Genius  of 
War,  who,  in  the  shape  of  a  tall,  ghost-like  pillar 
of  smoke,  stretches  out  his  huge  and  shadowy 
pinions  over  the  encountering  hosts.  The  Russian 
shrapnel  fly  fast  and  thick  just  over  the  southern  side 
of  the  crest-line.  They  are  fused  and  ranged  to  per- 
fection, and  before  they  burst  they  cross  a  rain  of 
Japanese  shells  pitching  within  ten  yards  of  them 
over  the  northern  edge  of  the  same  crest.  Many  a 
bullet  must  be  finding  the  wrong  billet  when  the  two 
targets  are  only  fifty  yards  apart.  The  hour  has 
come.  A  handful  of  Japanese  have  leaped  from  their 
cover  to  fling  themselves  to  earth  within  ten  paces  of 
the  Russians.  Unendurable  suspense !  Here  I  stand 
in  safety,  seeing  Japanese  and  Russians  springing  up  to 
fire  point-blank  into  one  another's  faces,  iJien  crouching 
down  to  reload,  then  again  rising  for  a  moment  to  fire. 
It  is  too  much  I 

I  saw  these  things  as  clearly  as  if  I  were  a  part  of 
them,  and  the  sight  of  these  little  struggling  figures 
silhouetted  against  the  sky  will  never  be  e£Eaced  fix>m 
my  mind.  For  now  the  Russians  rose  in  a  line  and, 
holding  their  sharp  bayonets  before  them,  charged 
down  like  mountain  bulls.  At  their  head  was  a  gallant 


The  Assault  of  the  Tall  Hill  253 

officer  in  a  white  coat,  and  his  sword  flashed  as  he 
waved  it  round  his  head.  Down  and  back  went  the 
Japanese ;  the  Headquarters  Staff  had  to  turn  their 
heads  away  from  the  long-drawn-out  agony  of  this 
struggle  with  bayonet  and  sword ;  but  I  could  not,  for 
I  was  lost  in  amazement.  The  foes  had  drawn  apart, 
and  stood  facing  one  another  at  ten  yards'  distance.  It 
seemed  an  eternity,  and  actually  it  must  have  been  a 
minute.  Then  they  closed  again,  and  seemed  to 
wrestle  body  to  body,  and  parted  again  and  threw 
rocks  and  thrust  with  bayonets  and  clubbed  their  rifles. 
But  they  did  not  shoot,  or  if  they  did  it  was  only  a 
very,  very  little.  There  were  only  some  seventy 
Japanese,  and  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  Russians.  The 
crisis  lasted  full  five  minutes,  and  now  the  Japanese 
seemed  beaten  ;  several  of  them  fell  back ;  all  was  lost 
— No  I  the  fugitives  turned  again,  brave  fellows  1  The 
Russians  withdrew  to  their  trench,  the  Japanese 
followed  close  on  their  heels,  and  the  position  was 
taken.  From  right  and  left  reinforcements  continuously 
worked  their  way  up  the  hill  side,  and  by  half-past 
five  o'clock  the  whole  of  the  crest-line  was  thick  with 
Japanese  emptying  their  magazines  against  the  retreat- 
ing Russians,  and  firing  at  Round  Top  Hill,  which  was 
now  being  once  more  assaulted  by  the  Tenth  Division 
of  the  Fourth  Army.  The  whole  of  the  First  Army 
Headquarters  look  taller  and  bigger  men,  as  if  a  great 
weight  had  suddenly  been  rolled  off  their  shoulders. 

War  brings  with  it  many  surprises,  but  I  must  say 
I  never  expected  to  see  in  a  modem  battle  a  long- 
drawn-out  struggle  with  the  cold  steel  carried  on  in 
broad  daylight  between  men  armed  with  modem 
weapona  It  exemplifies  the  strong  tendency  of  human 
beings   to   revert  to   primitive  methods   under    the 


-VT" 


254  A  Staff  Officer's  Sorap-Book 

influence  of  any  great  pressure  or  strain.  It  might  be 
the  same  with  our  own  men  under  similar  conditions, 
but  I  can  answer  for  it  that  it  would  not  be  so  with 
the  Boers.  Neither  Bussians  nor  Japanese  can  hold 
a  candle  to  a  Boer  when  it  comes  to  the  instinctive, 
deadly,  panther-like  quickness  with  which  the  hunter 
of  the  veldt  can  use  a  rifle  at  close  range.  In  such  a 
mSlSe  as  that  which  I  have  just  seen,  a  good  Boer 
would  have  had  an  enemy  on  the  ground  for  each  of 
the  ten  cartridges  in  his  magazine  .Shin  some  twenty 
seconds !  The  bayonet  should  have  no  fears  for  such  a 
man.  After  all,  a  soldier  with  a  bayonet  is  more  easily 
stopped,  and  much  less  swift  and  terrible  than  a  tiger. 
Tet  there  are  men  who  will  follow  up  a  wounded  tiger 
on  foot  for  pleasure.  But  they  are  practised  riflemen 
and  have  confidence  in  their  aim. 

7  P.M. — ^Bound  Top  has  been  captured  by  the  Tenth 
Division.  Fourth  Army,  assisted  by  ttie  fire  of  the 
Second  Division,  from  the  captured  hill,  now  called 
Okasaki  Tama  in  honour  of  the  gallant  brigadier. 
Okasaki  himself  and  his  troops  are  to  have  no  rest,  but 
have  been  ordered  to  take  another  hill  two  miles  to  the 
east  by  Renkwasan  during  the  coming  night.  They 
are  now  starting. 

The  capture  of  Okasaki  Tama  relieves  the  First 
Army  from  a  great  danger.  Since  Matsunaga  has  been 
sent  to  Chosenrei  (where  he  is  still  held  up),  the 
weakest  point  in  Kuroki's  line  is  that  between  the  right 
of  the  Second  Division  and  the  left  of  the  Guards.  In. 
fact,  the  gap  of  some  three  miles  between  them  was  at 
first  only  filled  by  two  Eobi  battalions,  left  behind  by 
Matsunaga,  afterwards  increased  to  four  Eobi  battalions 
by  the  addition  of  the  whole  of  Euroki's  reserve. 
Okasaki  Tama  was  like  a  spear-head,  pressing  painfully 


t 


The  Assault  of  the  Tall  Hill  255 

against  this  weakly  armoured  spot.  Had  it  not  been 
taken  before  nightfall,  it  might  have  punctured  an 
open  wound  in  the  Japanese  line  of  battle,  through 
which  several  Kussian  Divisions'^  might  have  pene- 
trated into  their  vitals.  I  am  sure  that  the  sending  of 
Matsunaga  to  Penchiho  was  worse  to  the  commander  of 
the  First  Army  than  losing  a  limb.  If,  however,  I  were 
asked  whether  the  problematical  results  were  worth  so 
desperate  a  risk  I,  personally,  with  the  limited  informa- 
tion  at  my  disposal,  should  say,  most  certainly  not. 
The  consideration  of  such  a  question  is  more  suitable 
for  an  elaborate  study  than  for  my  note-book,  but, 
briefly,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  best  justification  for 
detaching  Matsunaga  would  be  : 

(1)  That  the  Twelfth  Division  was  in  such  a 
bad  way  that  help  must  be  sent  them  at  all  costs. 

(2)  That  there  was  danger  lest  the  Eussians 
should  break  through  the  Japanese  Twelfth 
Division,  and  thus  cut  the  line  of  communication 
through  while  supplies  had  been  sent  to  Penchiho 
since  Bennenkampf  had  interrupted  the  Chaotao- 
Penchiho  road. 

(3)  That  Euroki  had  a  right  to  reckon  upon 
Marshal  Oyama's  willingness  to  send  him  the 
Fifth  Division  and  Second  Battalion  of  Foot 
Artillery,!  who  should  be  here  in  an  hour's  time. 

I  doubt  myself  if,  on  closer  examination,  it  will 
be  found  that  any  of  these  suppositions  could  be 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  if  so  I  think  it  must 

*  No  less  than  four  Buflsian  Divisions  were  available,  and  with 
Okasaki  Yama  in  their  hands  a  night  attcu^  on  and  through  Han- 
lasanshi  must  almost  inevitably  have  succeeded. — I.  H. 

t  This  battalion  of  Foot  Artillery  was  armed  with  old-fashioned 
9^  centimetre  bronze  mortars  conveyed  in  the  ordinary  Japanese 
pony  transport  carts. 


i^flfy^sff^afmmmm^'^BifftmsvmilKi^mmtmmmsimm 


256  A  Staff  Officbb's  Scbap-Book 

be  admitted  that  the  despatch  of  Matsunaga  was  one 
of  those  over  bold  strokes  to  which  continued  good 
fortune  may  sometimes  tempt  the  greatest  com- 
manders. 

By  taking  Okasaki  Tama,  Okasaki  has  again  saved 
the  situation,  for,  by  nightfall,  no  other  success  had 
crowned  the  eflforts  of  the  First  Army. 


^ 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE  RUSSIANS  RECROSS  THE  SHAHO 

October  lith,  1904,  8  A.M.  On  the  mound  north-east 
of  Hcmlasanshi. — ^The  sound  of  the  firing  has  re- 
ceded northwards,  and  I  can  see  nothing  from  here, 
hut  I  have  heen  told  some  particulars  regarding  the 
action  fought  by  the  Guards  yesterday,  which  em- 
phasise the  importance  of  Okasaki's  victory*  As  I 
have  already  noted,  the  left  Guards  column  was  to 
occupy  the  hills  east  of  Domonshi,  whilst  the  right 
column  was  to  take  Bajisan,  and  thence  to  attack  and 
occupy  the  big  mountain  Sensan,  from  which  the 
retreat  of  the  Russians  holding  Okasaki  Tama  and 
the  neie;hbourhood  could  have  been  cut  off,  {See 
Map  XXXIII.) 

The  right  Guards  colunm  of  six  battalions  under 
Izaki,  duly  attacked  and  captured  Bajisan,  but  when 
it  endeavoured  to  force  its  way  across  the  long,  low 
ridge  connecting  Bajisan  with  Sensan,  it  came  under 
fire  firom  the  north-east  and  north-west,  against  which 
it  could  make  no  progress.  A  Russian  column  then 
advanced  through  the  village  of  Shimokokugiuton  and 
made  a  counter-attack  against  Izaki's  left,  whose  whole 
force  was  thus  thrown  on  the  defensive. 

The  left  Guards  column  started  at  daybreak  for  the 
hills  east  of  Domonshi,  but  found  them  occupied  by 

II  B 


258  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgrap-Book 

the  enemy  in  such  foroe  that,  far  from  being  able  to 
attack,  the  colmnn  was  forced  to  entrench  and  defend 
itself.  Thereupon  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  was 
encouraged  to  strike  boldly  at  the  gap  which  separated 
the  right  and  left  Guards  columns,  and  in  doing  so 
occupied  a  small  hill  (now  called  lida  Tama),  midway 
between  the  two,  thus  piercing  the  centre  of  the 
division.  Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost  unless  a  dis- 
aster) was  to  ensue.  If  the  Bussians  on  lida  Tama 
were  reinforced  they  might  either  continue  their 
advance  and  capture  the  Guards  artillery,  or  else, 
striking  out  left  and  right,  they  might  outflank  and 
overthrow  both  right  and  left  columns. 

In  this  emergency  the  4th  Guards  Begiment, 
who  formed  the  Divisional  Reserve  under  Colonel 
lida  were  ordered  to  attack.  lida  made  a  fine  advance 
and  effected  a  lodgment  on  the  knoll  which  now  bears 
his  name.  He  could  not  altogether  expel  the  enemy, 
but  he  arrested  their  progress  and  turned  their 
thoughts  away  from  further  offensive  action. 

Meanwhile,  the  right  column  had  been  driven  back 
by  a  Russian  counter-attack  from  Bajisanmura,*  and 
continued  its  retreat  for  several  miles  until  it  re-entered 
the  general  alignment  which  it  had  first  quitted  on  the 
night  of  the  11th- 12th,  not  too  wisely  I  venture  to 
think.t 

At  midnight,  last  night,  the  enemy  began  a  general 
retirement,  and  the  whole  of  the  First  Army,  including 

*  Ifaerhshan  is  the  OhineBe  name  for  Bajisaiu  Mora  means 
Tillage  in  Japanese^ 

t  It  is  difBoalt  to  understand  how  the  Japanese  on  the  ool 
hetween  Bajisan  and  Bensan  were  allowed  to  retire  without  being 
yery  seriously  punished.  They  were  under  fire  from  Bensan,  and 
the  Bussians  were  in  oooupation  of  lida  Yama  and  adyandng  fooni 
Bajisanmura.    However,  they  did  get  away  quite  comfortably. 


m^m 


The  Bussians  Eecross  thb  Shaho        259 

the  Fifth  Division,*  lent  to  Kuroki  by  Oyama,  is  now 
advancing  on  the  Shaho. 

10  A.M. — I  have  just  had  the  privilege  of  a  few 
minutes'  talk  with  H.LH.  Prince  KunL  He  was 
pleased  to  remark  that  whenever  he  came  out  in  the 
morning  he  always  looked  first  to  see  if  the  guns  of  the 
enemy  were  further  off,  so  as  to  get  an  idea  of  how 
things  were  going.  I  said  that  to  achieve  the  same 
result  I  always  looked  at  the  faces  of  the  Staff. 

I  then  got  leave  to  go  and  see  Terayama  and  Okasaki 

Tama.     On  Terayama  the  poor  gods  were  out  in  the 

open ;  both  the  Japanese  and  Russian  artilleries  having 

combined  to  knock  their  abode  about  their  ears.  Three 

gigantic   figures    especially  attracted   my  attention. 

They  were  surrounded  by  many  wounded,  and  the  gods 

themselves  had  been  stabbed  aJl  over  by  the  bayonets  of 

the  religious  Bussian  soldiers  {see  Photo.).    Altogether 

a  very  piteous  sight,  though  the  human  wounded  were 

being  looked  after  to  some  extent.     The  sunken  road 

on    the    south   and    south-west   of   Terayama   had 

afforded  the  Bussians  admirable  cover.     I  dismounted 

[  and  got  into  it  just  to  make  sure  my  observations  were 

[  correct  from  the  Bussian  point  of  view.  It  is  impossible 

^  to  imagine  more  favotu*able  shooting  conditions.     In 

^  most  directions  the  Bussian  field  of  fire  extended  for 

'  a  clear  1000  yards  which  was  unbroken  by  even  a 

scrap  of  cover,  and  at  the  worst  point  of  the  compass 

^  they  had  a  clear  600  yards.     In  theory  it  seemed  that 

i  the  defenders  had  only  to  lay  their  rifles  flat  along  the 

p  ground  and  pull  the  trigger  to  check  any  attempt  at  a 

ayup  de  main  like  that  of  Okasaki  on  the  11  th  instant. 

^  However,  it  was  not  so  in  reality.    The  Bussian  dead 

p  *  The  Fifth  Division  oonoentrated  last  night  at  Hanlasanshi  and 

4  Eamiriuka. — I^  ^ 


260  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgbap-Book 

had  not  yet  been  buried.  The  majority  had  been  killed 
by  shrapnel,  but  there  were  a  fair  number  of  bayonet 
wounds  also.  In  the  road  itself,  where  the  dead  were 
thickest,  not  many  seemed  to  have  been  killed  by 
rifle  fire. 

I  next  rode  to  Okasaki  Tama.  There  were  still 
some  Japanese  dead  on  the  lower  slopes.  They  were 
all  young  and  looked  like  boys  compared  with  the  big, 
bearded,  middle-aged  Russians  whose  dead  (not  nearly 
as  many  as  I  expected)  were  chiefly  on  the  summit. 
Whilst  gazing  around  I  met  two  soldiers  of  the  16th 
Regiment  which  had  carried  out  the  assault.  I  got  into 
conversation  with  them  through  Nakamura,  and 
found  that  one  of  them  had  actually  taken  part  in  the 
desperate  struggle  I  saw  at  5  p.m.  last  night.  In 
answer  to  a  question,  he  said  he  had  used  neither 
bullet  nor  bayonet,  but  had  taken  to  stone-throwing. 
I  asked  him  why  he  had  done  so,  seeing  it  was  surely 
quicker  to  load  and  to  fire,  and  he  replied  that  the 
Russians  did  it,  and  that  it  seemed  at  the  moment  to 
come  more  handy.  I  thanked  the  men,  and  said 
every  one  had  yesterday  admired  the  brave  regiment. 
They  said  something  to  Nakamura  in  reply.  He  did 
not  translate  it  to  me,  but  I  saw  him  smiling  to  him- 
self, and  asked  him  to  repeat  the  remark.  He  then 
told  me  the  soldier  had  replied  it  was  an  honour  to  his 
corps  that  it  should  have  won  the  approval  of  a 
general  of  an  allied  nation.  He  was  a  particularly 
nice-looking  boy  with  a  delicate,  well-bred  face.  The 
other  was  more  of  a  round-&ced  country  bumpkin. 
I  only  note  down  the  incident  to  show  that  many 
of  the  Japanese  private  soldiers  are  perfect  gentle- 
men. 

On  the  scene  of  the  hand-to-hand  struggle  I  watched 


M 

s 

\ 

h 

\ 

H 

\ 

^% 

\ 
I 

Thb  Eussians  Beoboss  the  Shaho       261 

yesterday  with  almost  horror-stricken  attention,  there 
were  a  number  of  Bussian  bayonets.  It  seems  that 
the  Japanese  soldiers  were  able  to  catch  hold  of 
them  in  the  milee  and  twist  them  off.  Another 
Japanese  soldier  searching  about  for  mementoes  here 
told  us  that  the  Bussian  bayonets  were  blunt  and 
would  not  penetrate  a  thick  coat.  In  proof  of  his 
assertion  he  picked  up  one  or  two  and  showed  that  the 
chiseMike  edge  had  become  quite  dull.  The  Bussians 
always  manoeuvre  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  no  doubt 
they  are  apt  to  become  blimt  under  service  conditions. 
Some  arrangement  will  have  to  be  made  in  future 
whereby  it  is  impossible  for  an  enemy  to  grasp  a 
bayonet  by  the  blade  and  unfix  it. 

From  where  I  now  stand  it  is  easy,  without  being  a 
great  tactician,  to  see  where  the  Bussians  made  their 
mistake  in  yesterday's  battle.  They  had  a  superiority  of 
numbers,  but  they  were  unable,  or  rather  didnot  seriously 
attempt,  to  make  these  numbers  tell.  Bound  Top  and 
OkasakiTama  together  did  not  afford  room  for  the  effec- 
tive employment  of  more  than  a  regiment.  At  the 
most,  this  terrain  gave  scope  for  one  battalion  on  each 
summit  and  one  battalion  entrenched  in  support  a  little 
way  down  each  northern  slope.  But  the  Bussians  had 
several  divisions  available.  In  the  old  days  when 
weight  and  cohesion  were  everything,  these  might 
have  been  used  in  long  columns  like  battering-rams  to 
drive  a  hole  through  one  small  vital  point  in  the  enemy's 
position.  Nowadays  the  way  to  employ  superiority  of 
force  is  by  occupying  or  advancing  over  a  wider  front 
than  the  enemy,  and  so  enveloping  him.  For  it  is 
cei'tain  that  to  cram  more  troops  than  can  fi:^ely  use 
their  rifles  upon  a  narrow  ridge  like  Okasaki  Tama  is 
merely  to  offer  up  victims  to  the  opponents'  shrapnel. 


S62  A  Staff  Offiobr's  Scrap-Book 

There  is  doubtless  a  moral  support  in  being  surrounded 
by  friends,  but  in  proportion  as  comrades  become 
corpses  the  confidence  changes  into  dismay.  In  my 
opinion,  then,  the  Russians  were  boimd  to  dear 
for  themselves  a  wider  frontage,  and  vigorous  counter- 
attacks upon  Suribachlyama  and  Nanzan  would  not 
only  have  achieved  such  an  object  if  successful,  but  even 
if  unsuccessful  would  have  distracted  the  plans  of  the 
Japanese  and  prevented  them  from  devoting  the  whole 
of  their  deliberate  attention,  as  well  as  their  concen* 
trated  artillery  fire,  to  the  capture  of  Okasaki  Tama. 

At  1  P.M.  1  rode  back  towards  the  knoll  north-east 
of  Hanlasanshi.  On  my  way  I  passed  some  of  the  new 
Fifth  Division.  The  Fourth  Army  has  no  military 
attach^,  and  in  passing  along  the  ranks  in  the  narrow 
streets  of  Sankashi  I  was  naturally  enough  taken  by 
the  men  for  a  Russian  prisoner  of  rank. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  Hanlasanshi  knoll,  I  foimd 
Kuroki  engaged  in  conversation  with  an  ofiScer  who 
had  just  come  in  from  the  staff  of  the  generalissimo. 
He  was  quite  the  typical,  army  head-quarters  staff 
ofiBcer.  He  wore  a  smart,  new  greatcoat  with  a  fur 
collar  and  bright,  polished  buttons  which  made  all  our 
old  garments  almost  rend  themselves  in  envy  and 
despite.  As  customary,  too,  he  was  received  with  a 
very  special  deference.  He  has  brought  us  a  copy 
of  a  proclamation  issued  by  Kuropatkin  to  his  army, 
of  which  I  am  to  have  a  translation.  Its  genei'al  tenor 
is  that  he  was  sorry  not  to  let  his  army  stay  and  fight 
it  out  at  Liaoyang,  but  that  a  better  opportunity  had 
now  offered.  I  am  sure  the  Japanese  think  precisely 
the  contrary. 

I  hear  that  the  whole  of  the  Russians  are  now  in 
retreat,  and  that  on  our  right  Matsunaga  has  joined 


The  Bussians  Rbgboss  the  Shaho        263 

hands  with  the  Twelfth  Division,  and  is  in  full  pursuit. 
Also  that  last  night  Okasaki  had  some  more  stiff 
fighting  near  Renkwasan.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark  he 
moved  north-eastwards  across  the  valley  to  the  east  of 
Okasaki  Tama.  The  Bussians  were  posted  on  a  hill 
just  to  the  west  of  Benkwasan.  They  held  their 
ground  with  determinatiou.  and  again  bayonete  and 
hand  grenades  superseded  the  bullet,  more  legiti* 
mately  than  in  the  daylight  contest  on  Okasaki  Tama. 
Eventually  the  Bussians  were  driven  off,  and  they  feU 
back  on  Hamatang.  It  is  said  that  Marshal  Oyama 
has  written  a  Eanjo  *  for  OkasakL 

5  P.M. — There  has  been  a  lot  of  thunder  and  icy 
rain,  which  must  have  caused  the  troops  very  great 
discomfort,  and  must  have  killed  off  hundreds  of 
wounded  who  might  otherwise  have  had  a  chance. 

Hanlasanshi,  10  P.M. — ^We  are  all  together  again 
in  a  Chinese  hut.  Apparently  the  Bussians  have  only 
fought  rearguard  actions  to-day,  and  are  now  all  across 
the  Shaho.  The  Fifth  Division  got  to  Waitosan  on 
the  Shaho  by  2  p.m.  and  wished  to  push  on.  Euroki 
was  inclined  to  consent,  but  Manchurian  Army  Head- 
quarters would  not  hear  of  it.  Amongst  other  things 
found  on  the  top  of  Okasaki  Tama  was  the  sword  of 
the  brave  Bussian  officer  who  led  the  charge  down  the 
hiU.  The  point  was  encrusted  with  blood  for  about 
three  inches,  so  the  poor  fellow  got  it  well  home  into 
some  one  before  he  felL 

And  so  the  great  battle  is  over.  What  an  experience  I 
My  mind  refuses  to  take  it  all  in,  and  I  am  sure  I  have 
stored  up  food  for  reflection  for  the  rest  of  my  life. 

*  A  Elanjo  in  a  writtea  appxoval^a  mucbiprued  reward  for  either 
a  ODit  or  an  individual* 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
THE  LITTLE  MAN  IN  GREEN 

Hanlasanshi,  October  Ibth,  1904. — If  any  con- 
firmation were  needed  of  our  information  that  the 
fighting  is  over  for  the  present,  it  would  be  furnished 
by  the  arrival  of  a  posse  of  workmen  from  headquarters 
who  have  begun  to  repaper  the  windows  and  clean  the 
place  up  generally ;  a  sure  indication  always  of  a  halt 
of  some  duration.  But  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of 
firing  in  fi:ont  of  the  Second  Army,  and  I  hear  that 
they  are  attacking  and  endeavouring  to  force  the 
enemy  across  the  river  at  a  place  called  Shakaho.* 

I  do  not  myself  believe  that  Kuropatkin's  scheme  of 
putting  the  bulk  of  his  troops  on  his  lefb  and  endea- 
vouring to  turn  the  Japanese  right  at  Penchiho  was 
sound.  Stakelberg  apparently  concentrated  at  Fushun, 
and  meant  by  marching  in  a  curve  of  180  degrees,  via 
Penchiho,  to  turn  the  Japanese  right  and  arrive  at 
Liaoyang.  Mountains  lend  themselves  to  delaying 
operations  by  a  weaker  force,  and  it  might  have 
been  foreseen  that  Umezawa,  with  what  assistance 
he  could  get  from  the  Twelfth  Division,  would  be  able, 
by  taking  up  successive  positions,  to  delay  the  pro- 
gress of  a  force  even  such  as  Stakelberg's,  which  is  said 
to  have  consisted  of  four  divisions  of  infantry  and  a 
division  of  cavalry^,  Meai^wbile,  the  right  wing  of  the 
Russians  would  be  exposed  to  the  risk  of  being  crushed 

*  OhineBe,  Shahopu,  near  where  the  railway  crofiees  the  Shaho. 


The  Little  Man  in  Green  265 

by  a  direct  Japanese  advance  along  the  clear  and  easy 
main  road  and  railway,  and  by  the  routes  leading 
northwards  from  the  Yentai  coal-mines.  Had  Stakel- 
berg  possessed  a  separate  line  of  communications  to  the 
north-east  or  east,  then  perhaps  Kuropatkin's  scheme 
might  have  been  worth  trying.  But  this  was  not  so, 
and  Stakelberg's  line  of  communications  started,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  from  his  base  to  the  north  of  Mukden. 
Oyama's  idea  was  to  advance  left  in  fix)nt,  and  to 
endeavour  to  turn  the  enemy's  right.  By  so  doing  he 
hoped  not  only  to  push  him  from  the  railway,  but  drive 
him  altogether  eastwards,  into  the  mountains  and  away 
from  Mukden  and  his  communications  which  he  could 
only  then  have  regained  by  a  long  and  circuitous 
march  northwards.  Oyama  was  content  to  run  a  fair 
amount  of  risk  on  his  own  right  at  Penchiho  for  the 
chance  of  so  great  a  gain,  feeling  confident  that  any 
success  on  the  direct  road  would  quickly  cause  a  halt 
to  be  called  to  a  commander  operating  in  circuitous 
fashion  along  a  curve  of  180  degrees.  Oyama's  plan 
fell  short  of  complete  success  because  the  Russians 
fought  stoutly  and  had  too  many  troops  still  in  hand 
on  their  right  and  centre,  notwithstanding  the  powerful 
force  they  had  detached  to  their  left  under  Stakelberg. 

To  deal  out  destructive  criticism,  pure  and  simple, 
does  not  however  appreciably  advance  knowledge.  I 
will  try  my  humble  best  then  to  put  forward  an  alterna- 
tive proposal.  Suppose  I  had  had  the  honour  of  being 
staff  officer  to  Europatkin,  what  sort  of  a  scheme  of 
attack  would  I  have  drafted  for  his  approval  ? 

In  brief,  my  plan  would  have  been  to  concentrate 
the  main  Bussian  force  near  Hanlasanshi,  whilst  I 
merely  played  with  the  Japanese  right  by  demonstra- 
ting against  it  with  inferior  forces  just  to  keep  it 


266  A  Staff  Offioeb's  Scbap-Book 

occupiecL  I  would  have  opened  the  ball  by  making  a 
night  march  with  a  special  detachment  with  which  I 
should  have  endeavoured  to  turn  Marshal  Oyama's  left 
by  the  right  bank  of  the  Kongo.  The  force  for  this 
purpose  would  have  been  one  infSemtry  division  and  all 
the  cavalry  and  horse  artillery.  Another  of  my 
columns  would  have  marched  south  along  the  line  of 
the  railway,  but  the  great  bulk  of  my  troops  would 
have  concentrated,  as  I  have  just  said,  on  the  line 
Hanlasanshi-DomonshL''^  Full  initiative  must  have 
been  given  to  the  commanders  on  either  wing,  as  their 
communications  would  have  been  practically  en  Vair. 
Then  at  a  given  moment  I  would  have  thrust  with  all 
my  energy  and  force  at  the  Japanese  centre,  and  must 
have  broken  it.  Kuropatkin  knew  well  the  position 
of  the  Japanese  divisions  and  their  strengths  before 
he  despatched  Stakelberg  to  the  East.  It  was 
impossible  to  keep  him  indefinitely  ignorant  of 
their  distribution.  He  knew  then  that  he  was  in 
superior  force,  and  that  he  was  stronger  generally 
opposite  the  Japanese  right  centre,  but  probably  he 
did  not  quite  gauge  how  weak,  how  very  weak,  was 
Kuroki  between  the  Second  Division  and  the  Imperial 
Guards.  Still,  he  must  have  realised  something,  and 
even  if  I  had  found  myself  his  staff  officer  under  the 
faulty  conditions  of  the  plan  he  actually  adopted,  I 
would  have  done  my  best  to  induce  him  to  strike  one 
good,  downright  blow  just  on  the  right  of  the  Second 
Division,  or  on  the  lefb  of  the  Guards. 

It  seems  to  me,  in  the  wisdom  that  comes  after  the 
event,  that  the  chief  of  the  staff  to  Kuropatkin  might 
have  advised  his  commander  on  some  such  lines,  and 
that  if  his  advice  had  been  acted  upon  the  battle  might 

*  Chinese,  Pi^nlashantfiu^Tumeptsii, 


The  Little  Man  in  Green  267 

not,  after  all,  have  ended  so  very  badly  for  the  Bussians, 
although  certainly  their  advance  on  Liaoyang  must  in 
any  case  have  been  defeated.  The  fact  is  our  First 
Army  was  at  its  very  weakest  between  the  Second 
Division  and  the  Guards,  and  it  was  a  touch-and-go 
affair  on  that  part  of  the  terrain  until  the  night  of  the 
13th.  Up  till  then,  if  the  Russians  had  come  on  with 
the  four  divisions  which  they  had  available  on  the  line 
Hanlasanshi-Domonshi,  and  had  hcmiiment  menSs 
Vattaque  de  nuity  ga  aurait  riussi. 

The  battle  of  the  Shaho,  which  must,  from  every 
point  of  view,  be  considered  one  of  the  most  important 
engagements  ever  fought  upon  this  planet,  will 
doubtless  form  a  favourite  text  for  the  dissertations  of 
able  historians.  Numbers  will  be  checked  and  weighed 
in  the  balances  of  time  and  opportunity.  Maps  will 
be  studied  and  masses  of  individual  testimonies  will 
be  sifted  and  carefully  checked.  Not  until  then  can 
any  authoritative  judgment  be  pronounced  on  the 
commanders  and  troops  on  either  side.  Still,  it  must 
also  be  remembered  that  time  spent  in  careful  investiga- 
tions is  not  altogether  time  gained.  During  the  next 
few  months  many  fables  will  be  invented  and  many  in- 
dividuals will  have  realised  that  it  is  to  their  advantage 
to  confuse  and  darken  the  issues.  I  am  therefore  less 
inclined  to  apologise  than  perhaps  I  ought  to  be  that 
I  have  ventured  to  set  forth,  here  on  the  very  ground, 
an  opinion  which  is  certainly  as  sincere  as  it  is 
strong, 

I  have  written  the  foregoing  whilst  waiting  for  an 
important  officer  in  his  quarters,  in  a  small  room  in  a 
Chinese  Temple.  The  air  is  thick  with  cigarette  smoke. 
An  adjutant,  who  has  been  up  all  the  previous  night, 
sits  at  a  table  hardly  able  to  keep  his  eyes  open  for 


268  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

sleepiness.  On  the  kong,  a  small  orderly-room  clerk 
is  squatting  down  like  a  statue  of  Buddha,  writing 
orders  with  a  paint-brush  and  indian  ink,  each  character 
a  masterpiece  of  art. 

Hanlasakshi.  October  16t^,  1904. — Slight  frost 
last  night.  A  lovely  day  to  be  alive;  a  feeling 
emphasised  by  the  surrounding  battalions  of  dead  on 
whom  the  earth  does  in  truth  lie  lightly,  so  lightly 
that'  everywhere  they  seem  to  be  struggling  to  escape 
and  walk  again  on  this  beautifrd  autumn  morning. 

I  have  managed  to  secure  a  statement  of  the  number 
of  Bussians  actually  buried  on  the  battle-field  up  to 
dusk  yesterday  evening.     Here  it  is : 


Left  bank  of  Taitsuho    . 

Taling  and  Tumenling    • 

Heights  north  and  south  of  ^ 
^uniriuka  (Shanlingho).    J 

Heights  north  and  south  of  ^ 
Bhotatsuko  (Hsiao  Takou).  J 

Neighbourhood  of  Rankaahi  (Sanchiatsa) 

„  of  Seikosan  * 

Various  scattered  spots 


8M) 
500 

600 

1000 

600 
800 
800 


This  makes  a  total  of  3650  dead  who  have  actually 
received  interment ;  but  judging  merely  from  my  own 
observation  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  the  very 
least  that  can  be  added  on  for  corpses  still  unburied  is 
10  per  cent.,  making  a  total  of  4000.     According  to 

*  This  was  the  scene  of  a  fight  witnessed  by  Vincent  on  the  14th 
between  the  left  of  Okasaki's  Brigade  and  the  right  of  the  Fourth 
Army,  against  a  Bussian  rearguard  packed  very  ck)se  upon  a  ridge. 
The  ridge  was  swept  from  the  south  by  artilleiy  of  the  Second 
Divirion  and  from  the  soixth*west  by  the  artillexy  of  the  Fourth 
Army.  All  the  losses,  practically,  were  caused  by  shrapnel.  The 
number  of  dead  stated  to  have  be^i  buried  is  corroborated  in  this 
instance  by  information  I  received  from  an  officer  of  the  40th 
Begiment,  who  was  actually  engaged  in  the  work* 


Thb  Little  Man  in  Green  269 

recognised  custom,  the  killed  should  be  multiplied  by 
five  to  arrive  at  the  total  casualties,  which  thus  amount 
to  20,000. 

The  dead  Russians  in  front  of  the  Second  and  Fourth 
Annies  are  reported  to  be  4000,  and  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple the  total  losses  of  Kuropatkin  must  number  fully 
40,000.  As  the  action  was,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
campaign,  a  hMaille  de  rencontre^  and  as  the  Russians 
had  not  therefore  the  advantage  of  field  works,  the  more 
extended  formations  of  the  Japanese  and  their  intelli- 
gent use  of  the  ground  told  heavily  in  their  favour.  They 
do  not  reckon  their  loss  at  more  than  10,000,  and  they 
are  in  a  position,  which  Russia  is  not,  to  replace  these 
losses  promptly.  Man  for  man  the  Japanese  reckon 
they  can  place  troops  at  Mukden  in  one-third  of  the 
time  in  which  the  Russians  can  hope  to  do  so.  So 
at  least  they  say,  although  I  think  the  comparison  is 
somewhat  sanguine. 

Hanulnsanshl  October  17th,  1904. — ^At  the  tail  of 
all  the  self-congratulation  of  yesterday's  entries,  a 
small  regrettable  incident  has  crept,  belated,  half 
ashamed  to  show  its  face,  but  still,  refusing  to  be 
altogether  ignored.  Yesterday,  the  Fifth  Division 
marched  back  to  rejoin  the  Fourth  Army,  leaving  one 
battalion  behind  to  hold  Waitosan.*  Last  night  a 
Russian  regiment  attacked  the  battalion  and  re- 
captured Waitosan  after  a  stiff  fight. 

But  this  is  not  all.  We  hear  rumours  bom  servants 
and  interpreters  that  the  Fourth  Army  has  lost  ten 
gun&  Ordinarily,  I  pay  no  attention  to  camp 
rumours,  which  are  as  numeroiis  and  fiilly  as  un- 

*  Waitosan  (Ohineee,  Waitonahan)  is  called  by  the  Buasiana 
«  Temple  Hill."  This  must  not  be  confounded  with  Terayama  or 
^  Temple  Hill,"  captured  by  the  Okasald  Brigade  on  October  11th.  . 


270  A  Staff  Officbb's  Scrap-Book 

authentic  with  the  Japanese  armies  as  with  our  own, 
but  a  report  of  defeat  and  disaster  is  something  new, 
and  must,  I  think,  have  some  foundation  on  fact. 

Hanlasakshi.  October  IStk^  1904. — ^At  2  p.m., 
Colonel  Satow  came  in,  and  said  he  was  ordered  to 
read  us  out  an  information. 

The  communication  was  as  follows :  ^'  As  the 
enemy  was  resisting  very  stubbornly  at  Shakaho 
(Shabopu)  in  front  of  the  Second  Army,  the  5th 
Brigade  of  the  Tenth  Division,  Fourth  Army,  was 
ordered  to  march  against  the  left  flank  of  the 
enemy  with  one  Brigade  of  Field  Artillery  and 
one  Brigade  of  Mountain  Artillery.  The  brigadier 
crossed  the  river  and  attacked  the  left  flank  of  the 
Bussian  position  at  Shakaho  (Shahopu)  on  the  16th 
instant.  As,  however,  the  enemy  held  on  with  great 
determination,  he  received  orders  to  retire.  At  that 
very  moment  the  enemy  attacked  the  Brigade  in 
great  force  and  fury.  A  confused,  bloody  combat 
ensued,  which  lasted  long  into  the  night.  Both  sides 
fell  back  simultaneously,  but  the  Brigade  found  that 
in  the  course  of  the  engagement  it  had  lost  nine  field 
guns  and  five  Mountain  guns." 

I  am  very  glad  indeed  that  the  Japanese  have  told 
us  their  bad  news  so  frankly.  Satow  delivered  the 
message  very  welL  I  merely  said,  **  Such  incidents 
must  always  happen  in  war,"  and  he  bowed. 

So  &r  as  I  can  recollect,  this  reverse  is  the  first  of 
its  sort  that  has  been  suffered  by  a  Japanese  army 
for  many  years.  There  was  no  similar  misfortune 
during  the  war  with  China,  and  there  has  been  none, 
so  far,  in  Manchuria. 

HAin:iA6ANSHi,  October  20th,  1904. — I  had  a  long 
talk  to-day  with  a  staff  officer,  mainly  about  Port 


The  Little  Man  in  Green]  271 

Arthur  and  the  effects  of  the  eleven-inch  howitzers. 
It  appears  they  have  hit  the  ships  in  harbour 
several  times,  and  that  once  General  Nogi  can  sink 
them  some  of  his  army  will  probably  be  brought  up 
here.*  The  Eighth  Division  has  arrived  at  Yentai 
Coal-Mines,  and  two  more  Kobi  Brigades  will  also 
soon  arrive  in  the  fighting  line.  The  enemy  in  our 
front  are  entrenching  themselves  heavily.  It  is  the 
earnest  hope  of  the  Japanese  that  the  Russians  will 
soon  sally  forth  and  attack  them  again.  The  fact  that 
Kuropatkin  decided  to  come  south  and  fight  the  last 
battle,  instead  of  falling  back  and  awaiting  Oyama  at 
Taling,  north  of  Mukden,  was  the  most  splendid  piece 
of  good  fortune  that  could  possibly  have  happened  to 
Japan.  So  the  Head-Quarters  here  think  it  is  not  too 
much,  perhaps,  to  hope  that  the  Russians  may  repeat 
their  mistake  and  have  another  fight;  when  it  is 
impossible  to  say,  of  course,  who  would  win,  but  when 
the  battle  would,  any  way,  be  finally  decisive  of  the 
campaign,  one  way  or  another. 

As  regards  the  guns  captured  fix>m  the  Fourth 
Army,  it  turns  out  that  the  loss  of  the  brigade  was 
only  some  500  men.  The  guns  were  taken  after  dark, 
when  they  were  in  column  of  route.  The  Japanese 
opinion  is  that  the  Fifth  Brigade  went  too  far  in  the 
first  place,  and  that  in  the  second  place  the  retreat 
could  not  have  been  well  conceived  or  carried  out  from 
the  tactical  point  of  view.  If  a  retreat  has  to  take 
place  by  night  it  is  obvious  that  the  infantry  must 
not  fall  back  until  the  guns  and  train  have  got  a  good 
start  of  them.  After  that,  when  the  main  body  of 
the  infantry  falls  back  it  must  still  leave  a  strong  rear- 

*  I  omit  all  the  Port  Arthur  news,  as  it  does  not  immediately 
oonoem  the  First  Army 


272  A  Staff  Officbr's  Scbap-Book 

guard  behind  it,  and  when,  as  in  the  present  case,  a 
comparatively  small  force  has  penetrated  into  the 
enemy's  country,  flank  guards  also  become  absolutely 
necessaiy.  Had  such  principles  been  acted  upon  by  the 
Commander  of  the  Fifth  Brigade  on  the  night  of  the 
16th- 17th  October,  then,  although  the  infantry  were 
exterminated,  the  guns  at  least  might  have  escaped. 
Supposing,  however,  that  the  guns  had  been  captured 
after  very  heavy  losses  had  been  suffered,  then  no  one 
could  have  said  one  word.  But  500  casualties  is  not 
enough  to  set  against  the  capture  by  the  enemy  of 
fourteen  guns.  The  brigadier  was  too  courageous — 
that  is  the  long  and  short  of  it  The  young  officers 
of  the  First  Army,  on  hearing  of  the  disaster,  say, 
*'  This  is  very  wholesome  and  salutary  for  us  all,  and 
will  teach  us  to  be  cautious  on  future  occasions.'* 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  with  Vincent  for  a  walk,  and 
we  took  the  direction  of  the  mountain  Daisan  (Sketch 
XXrV.)  which  we  determined  to  scale.  When  we  were 
still  along  way  off  we  noticed  the  head  and  shoulders  oi 
a  man  against  the  sky-line  on  the  summit.  As  a  very 
extensive  view  can  be  obtained  from  the  top  of  Daisan, 
it  seemed  possible  that  the  Japanese  might  have  posted 
a  look-out  sentry  there ;  and  so,  as  we  have  both  had 
some  narrow  escapes  lately  from  revolvers  and  rifles 
levelled  at  us  under  a  misapprehension,  we  were  care- 
ful to  walk  up  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  no  reasonable 
ground  for  suspicion.  That  is  to  say,  we  advanced  up 
the  bare  spur  as  ostentatiously  as  possible,  took  out 
our  handkerchiefs  and  blew  our  noses  and  talked  to 
one  another,  just  to  show  we  were  not  the  scouts  of 
the  enemy.  When  a  mountain  gets  very  steep  at  the 
last  stage  of  the  ascent,  however,  the  climber  has  not 
much  breath  to  spare  for  such  demonstrations,  a.nd 


The  Little  Man  in  Green  273 

that,  I  suppose,  must  account  for  the  complete  frus- 
tration of  our  precautions  by  the  event.  For,  as  we 
topped  the  crest  line  and  stepped  on  to  the  little  flat 
plateau  at  the  summit,  we  became  aware  of  a  little 
Japanese  figure  in  a  greatcoat  and  uniform  of  a  green- 
ish hue  sitting  there,  looking  northwards  through  his 
field  glassea  On  hearing  our  footsteps  he  turned  his 
head,  and,  seeing  us  for  the  first  time,  sprang  to  his  feet, 
his  face  convulsed  with  terror.  He  had  a  long  staff 
in  his  hand,  and  he  kept  striking  the  ground  with 
its  point  and  stamping  with  rage,  evidently  quite 
beside  himself,  as  he  endeavoured  to  edge  away 
towards  the  shelter  of  a  rock,  from  the  other  side  of 
which  he  could,  we  knew,  call  for  help  to  the  picquet 
on  the  next  hill  and  make  a  fuss  generally. 

Vincent  talks  Japanese  fluently  enough,  and  he  tried 
to  reason  with  our  ally,  telling  him  who  we  were  and 
where  we  came  from,  but  it  was  all  of  no  sort  of 
use ;  he  might  as  well  have  addressed  himself  to  the 
winds.  The  man  was  completely  distraught.  Never 
shall  I  forget  the  picture  he  made,  or  the  alternating 
Expressions  of  fear  and  fury  which  passed  across  his 
face.  He  looked,  with  his  green  clothes  and  his  staff 
and  his  stamping  foot  and  his  mingled  glances  of 
horror  and  rage  as  if  he  had  escaped  from  some  &iry 
tale  to  torment  us.  At  last  I  stepped  forward 
— he  would  have  struck  me  had  I  come  within 
distance — and  put  my  card,  whereon  my  rank  and 
name  were  clearly  written  in  Japanese  characters, 
on  a  big  stone.  I  suppose  the  idea  that  raiding 
Cossacks  do  not  first  present  their  visiting  cards  to 
their  intended  victims  must  then  have  penetrated 
his  mind.  Any  way,  still  keeping  his  staff  raised  in 
readiness  to  strike,  he  cautiously  approached  the  stone 

n  s 


274  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scbap-Book 

after  I  had  as  cautiously  withdrawn,  holding  my  hands 
well  outstretched  so  as  to  show  that  no  treachery  lurked 
behind  my  modest  bit  of  pasteboard.  Then,  when  from 
the  comer  of  his  eye  he  had  mastered  the  inscription, 
he  did  at  last  become  half  convinced  that  we  were  not  as 
we  seemed,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  pair  of  honest  gentle- 
men out  for  air  and  exercise.  He  saluted,  and  we  even 
had  some  conversation. 

A  military  attach^  must  never  lose  an  opportunity. 
Whether  in  love  or  war,  recreation  or  work,  he  has  to 
keep  a  sharp  look-out  not  to  lose  the  smallest  chance 
of  gaining  information.  So,  as  soon  as  we  ascertained 
that  our  new  acquaintance  was  a  doctor,  we  questioned 
^im  about  his  hospitals.  He  told  us  he  had  been 
absolutely  chock  fiill  ever  since  the  middle  of  August. 
He  had  kept  careful  notes  of  the  description  of  wounds 
in  his  own  hospital,  and  had  often  discussed  the  point 
with  his  brother  medicos ;  and  he  thought  that  if  bullet 
wounds  were  put  at  100,  shrapnel  wounds  would  stand 
at  a  ratio  of  about  20  and  bayonet  wounds  at  2. 
He  had  been  with  the  First  Army  since  February,  but 
he  had  never  heard  of  our  existence  until  now.  Even 
after  this  agreeable  conversation,  our  new  friend  was 
by  no  means  at  his  ease.  So  he  removed  himself  troxa 
our  society  as  soon  as  he  could  politely  do  so,  and  after^ 
wards  we  saw  him  deep  in  consultation  with  the  non- 
commissioned officer  and  some  men  of  a  neighbouring 
post,  who  were  all  regarding  us  with  much  interest. 

I  have  come  to  the  fixed  determination  not  to  go  out 
again  without  a  Japanese  soldier  as  escort.  Two  days 
ago,  as  I  ran  round  a  hillock  to  warm  my  feet,  I  had  a 
loaded  rifle  pointed  slap  at  me  by  a  sentry,  and  I  have 
always  thought  the  habit  of  levelling  firearms  at 
people's  heads  unnecessarily  dangerous.     Yesterday  a 


The  Littls  Man  in  Gbeen  275 

gendarme  pulled  out  a  revolver  at  Vinceiiti  making  him 
80  voluble  in  Japanese  that  if  only  the  examiner  at 
Tokio  could  have  heard  him,  he  would  have  passed,  I 
am  sure,  with  honours ;  and  to-day  we  have  had  the 
worst  adventure  of  alL  For  there  is  not  a  shadow  of 
doubt  in  mj  mind  that  had  our  doctor  possessed  a 
revolver,  it  would  have  been  a  case  of  shooting  first 
and  explanations  afterwards.  I  am  fond  of  adventures, 
and,  at  one  time  or  another,  a  goodly  number  have 
come  my  way,  but  enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast.  To  be 
shot  by  a  doctor  would  be  a  silly  end  to  a  life  which 
has  afforded  me  some  interest.  Ended  by  ja  doctor 
some  day  I  must  be,  I  admit.  It  is  the  common 
fate,  but  a  pistol  is  not  a  legitimate  weapon  for  the 
purpose. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 
BANQUETS  AND  REVELS 

Hanlasakshi,  October  21st,  1904. — ^A  bitterly  oold 
wind  is  blowing,  although  there  is  not  yet  anything 
specifically  Siberian  about  the  temperature — not  more 
than  four  or  five  degrees  of  frost  at  most,  I  fancy.  I 
went  for  another  walk  with  Vincenti  but  after  our  ex- 
perience of  yesterday  we  made  a  sergeant-major  come 
with  us,  although  it  was  much  against  the  grain.  He 
thinks  we  are  mad  thus  to  clamber  up  and  down  moun- 
tains for  no  ostensible  profit  or  amusement. 

Our  companion  was  in  an  unusually  communicative 
mood.  He  would  not  admit  that  any  soldiers  were 
tired  of  war's  alarms  or  anxious  to  seek  repose  in  the 
bosom  of  their  fiimilies,  except  perhaps  a  few  of  the 
city-bred  men.  I  see  that  he  considers  it  natural  that 
a  cockney  should  be  less  enduring  in  his  patriotism 
than  a  rustic. 

I  am  inclined  to  agree.  A  peasant  cultivating  even 
the  tiniest  patch  of  his  own  is  in  rather  a  different 
mental  relation  towards  his  country  from  a  merchant 
who  mainly  makes  money  out  of  it,  or  a  factory  hand 
who  draws  upon  it  for  wages.  He  owns  a  bit  of  it. 
I  have  seen  stretches  of  a  foreign  country  &rmed 
on  a  big  scale  with  machinery  and  hired  labour  and 
hard  by  I  have  compared  it  with  a  succession  of 
small  holdings.      From  the  point  of  view  of  farmings 


Banquets  and  Bevels  277 

there  is  no  comparison.  Cultivation  on  the  grand 
scale  brings  most  out  of  mother  earth.  But,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  humanity,  there  is  no  comparison 
either.  The  peasant  owner  is  a  man  ;  a  proud,  strong, 
independent  man,  who  has  a  stake  in  his  country. 
Those  are  the  fellows  we  want  as  soldiers  ;  the  yeomen 
who  have  been  from  the  beginning  of  history  and  will 
to  be  its  end,  the  very  backbone  of  empires. 

From  the  subject  of  the  soldiers,  our  non-com- 
missioned officer  went  on  to  remark  that  the  Japanese 
nation  would  not  feel  they  had  received  full  value 
in  the  way  of  a  war  unless  they  had  casualties 
totalling  up  to  at  least  200,000.  He  thinks  the 
First  Army  is  getting  on  very  nicely,  as  one-third 
of  those  who  embarked  in  February  for  Korea  have 
now  either  died  or  returned  sick  to  Japan.  We  do 
not  regard  our  wars  from  such  a  standpoint;  nor  I 
fancy  do  the  Japanese  either ;  but  it  pleases  him  to  say 
so,  and  certainly  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  notice 
that,  far  from  attempting  to  minimise  their  losses,  our 
aUies  are.  if  anything,  inclined  to  exaggerate  them.  I 
think  our  friend  is  spinning  yams  for  our  benefit.  He 
informs  us  that  the  people  of  Kyushu  are  of  a  fickle, 
fiery  and  impulsive  temperament  {Ki  ga  michigai).  The 
Twelfth  Division  are  entirely  drawn  from  Kyushu,  and 
they  are  desperate  fellows  for  an  attack,  for  when  their 
blood  is  up  there  is  nothing  that  will  stop  them.  The 
best  bluejackets  come  from  near  Shimonoseki  and  from 
Yamaguchi  and  Kigoshima.  The  best  soldiers  in  the 
army,  by  common  consent,  are  the  Second  Division 
from  Sendai.  They  are  men  whose  character  is  solid 
and  reliable,  and  who  are  not  too  quick-tempered. 
Finally  we  were  told  that  at  the  Penchiho  night  attack 
the  Russians  shouted  out  a  sentence  of  Japanese  which 


278  A  Staff  Officbe's  Scrap-Book 

they  had  learnt  by  heart,  '^  The  Bussians  are  comings 
the  Russians  are  coming  1 "  "  However,"  added  our 
informant,  "  they  did  not  come  so  very  far  afber  all." 
It  is,  perhaps,  hardly  worth  while  burdening  my  note- 
book with  such  bald  chat,  but  just  for  once  in  a  way 
it  is  as  well  to  include  a  record  of  the  opinions,  queer, 
partial  and  uninformed  as  they  may  be,  of  a  non- 
commissioned officer  of  cavalry. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  over  a  Field  Hospital 
belonging  to  the  Second  Division  at  Sankashi.  There 
are  altogether  780  of  the  Division  in  hospital,  of 
whom  only  SO  are  sick,  the  rest  being  wounded.  Six- 
teen wounded  Russians  have  been  brought  in,  but  all, 
except  one,  have  been  sent  away.  The  doctor  who 
took  us  round  told  us  that  more  than  one  half  of  the 
wounds  were  from  shrapnel  bullets,  and  that  there  are 
only  ten  bayonet  wounds  now  under  treatment.  Both 
these  statements  would,  however,  be  misleading  unless 
supplemented  by  the  further  information  we  received 
during  our  inspection,  namely,  that  the  excess  of 
shrapnel  wounds  was  mainly  owing  to  the  whole  of 
Okasaki's  Brigade  getting  bunched  up  on  Terayama 
immediately  after  its  capture,  when  they  were  sub- 
jected to  a  very  severe  bombardment ;  secondly,  to  the 
fact  that  the  Russian  bayonet  with  its  thin  weak 
shaft  and  blunt  chisel  point  does  not  penetrate  a  thick 
coat,  but  almost  invariably  bends.  We  have  all  seen 
bent  Russian  bayonets  lying  about  the  scenes  of  con- 
flict, so  this  is  no  doubt  true,  and  must  be  a  very 
encouraging  factor  to  the  Japanese  moral  when  they 
come  to  close  quarters  with  their  adversaries.  The 
pluck  of  the  patients  we  saw  was  quite  admirable. 
They  are  one  and  all  burning  to  get  back  to  their 
regiments;  so  much  so  indeed,  that  the  doctors  say 


Banqxtets  and  Bevels  279 

they  fret,  and  that  their  recovery  is  thereby  retarded. 
The  politeness  of  the  brave  fellows  is  almost  super- 
human. The  sick,  even  those  sick  unto  death,  try  to 
raise  themselves  on  their  hands  and  knees  to  bow  to 
the  foreign  officers. 

In  the  evening  I  met  a  friend  on  the  Staff  who  had 
just  come  back  from  an  interview  with  the  Marshal 
Oyama.  In  the  course  of  conversation,  the  great 
Marquis  said,  "  If  the  First  Army  does  not  take  any 
guns,  it  cannot  expect  a  Kanjo  (letter  of  appreciation), 
to  which  my  friend,  playing  on  the  word,  replied, 
"  Your  Excellency  need  not  trouble,  we  will  get  our 
Komjo  (they  must  pay  the  shot)  from  the  enemy." 

Hanlasanshi,  October  2bih. — Jardine  has  returned 
full  of  information  after  a  ten  days'  stay  with  a  cavalry 
regiment.  His  first  appearance  was  an  awful  shock, 
and    he    overheard    the   cavalry   colonel    utter  the 

Japanese  equivalent  for  d when  he  was  told  a 

foreigner  had  come  to  be  attached  to  his  command. 
Every  one  I  think  will  have  full  sympathy  for  his 
sentiments.  Nothing  however  could  have  been  kinder 
than  his  treatment  of  Jardine.  He  and  five  other 
officers  shared  a  small  Chinese  room  12  feet  by  12  feet, 
and  he  was  able,  from  the  facilities  placed  at  his 
disposal,  to  get  an  idea  of  pretty  well  everything 
that  went  on  from  orderly  room  and  drill  to  recon- 
naissance and  manoeuvre. 

To  combine  exercise  with  news,  I  took  him  with  me 
for  a  walk  to  Bayonet  Knoll,  the  little  hill  on  which  I 
saw  the  Kussian  detachment  circumvented  by  a  section 
of  Matsunaga's  men  from  Daisan.     (Sketch  XXIY.) 

Looking  over  the  ground  I  refreshed  my  memory  ot 
that  dramatic  little  affair,  and  realised,  even  more 
forcibly  than  on   the  11th  instant,  what  a  striking 


280  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

example  it  had  furnished  of  the  excellence  of  the 
Japanese  soldier.  His  love  of  fighting  and  his  in- 
dividuality combine  to  render  him  almost  independent 
of  leadership  and  formations,  once  he  has  been  &irly 
launched  on  the  attack.  The  fimctions  of  the  Japanese 
o£Bcers  are  mainly  to  administer  and  to  instruct. 
Their  leading  is  noble,  could  not  be  more  dashing ;  but 
it  is  not  really  so  necessary  in  battle  as  it  is  with  most 
other  nations.  The  question  of  f onnations  is  vital  in 
Europe,  because  they  are  one  of  the  instruments 
whereby  commanders  endeavour  to  bring  their  troops 
to  the  desired  spot  with  a  minimum  of  loss,  and  make 
available,  at  the  right  moment,  the  requisite  weight 
of  fire  or  steel  to  break  through  the  enemy's  defence. 
But,  if  every  private  soldier  is  absolutely  determined 
to  get  to  close  quarters  with  his  foe,  and  is  sufficiently 
intelligent  to  use  ground  to  the  best  advantage  in 
doing  so,  then  half  at  least,  and  the  most  difficult  half, 
of  the  objects  sought  by  drill,  formations  and  leader- 
ship is  already  a  national  attribute.  This  is  doubtless 
what  was  meant  by  a  festive  officer  in  the  far-away 
days  of  Fenghuangcheng,  when  he  insisted  on  how 
much  more  quickly  the  Japanese  could  turn  a  peasant 
into  a  soldier  than  the  Germans. 

10  P.M. — Colonel  Satow  has  brought  us  a  telegram 
saying  that  the  Baltic  Fleet  has  simk  one  British  ship 
and  damaged  two  others  in  the  Dover  Straits.  No 
one  can  understand  what  this  means,  and  many  dis- 
believe it. 

Hanlasanshi,  October  27th,  1904. — Hume  has  come 
back  from  seeing  the  Japanese  recapture  Waitosan  from 
the  Bussians.  As  it  projects  weU  out  into  the  valley  of 
the  Shaho,  the  Japanese  should  now  be  able  to  keep  an 
eye  on  the  proceedings  of  the  enemy.     Hume  gave  us  a 


Banqubts  and  Rbvbls  281 

▼ivid  aooount  of  a  BuBsian  officer  rallying  his  men  after 
the  J  had  fairly  forsaken  their  trenches.  He  ran  after 
them,  stopped  them,  entreated  them, and  finally  brought 
them  back  in  a  fine  rush  which  recaptured  the  trenches, 
into  which  only  about  a  dozen  Japanese  had  so  far 
penetrated.  A  gallant  fellow !  Let  us  hope  he  got  the 
cross  of  St.  Qeorge.  There  was  a  celebration  to-day  of 
the  victory  on  Okasaki  Tama.  Okasaki  himself  rode  a 
very  fine  captured  Russian  horse. 

Haklasanshi,  October  2Sth,  1904. — ^An  officer  of  the 
Manchurian  Army  Headquarters  Staff  rode  over  to  see 
us,  and  to  discuss  the  Bussian  Baltic  Fleet  and  its 
strange  behaviour.  I  do  not  think  the  incident  will  end 
in  war,  but  many  here  are  of  a  different  opinion. 

I  was  told  that  the  captured  Japanese  guns  had  been 
used  already  to  fire  back  at  our  lines  along  the  Shaho. 
Also  that  two  of  them  had  been  paraded  through  the 
streets  of  Mukden.  I  asked  what  was  the  attitude  of  the 
Chinese  Governor,  and  was  answered  by  a  Japanese 
proverb,  ^'  He  waits  until  he  sees  the  colour  of  the 
standard/' 

Hanlasanshi,  October  29th,  1904. — ^Nothing  to-day 
but  excitement  about  the  Bussian  fleet  and  our  fisher 
boats.   The  Japanese  are  greatly  stirred. 

Hanlasanshi,  October  30th,  1904. — Baltics  are  flat 
to-day. 

Hanlasanshi,  November  3rd,  1904.— This  is  the 
auspicious  date  on  which  the  Emperor  celebrates  his 
birthday.  Immediately  after  luncheon,  I  put  on  my 
sword,  and  went  round  to  congratulate  General  Kuroki 
and  his  Imperial  Highness  Prince  Kuni.  I  found  them 
both  sitting  in  a  little  tent  which  was  pitched  in  the 
courtyard  of  their  house.  The  Prince  unfortunately  was 
suffering  from  a  touch  of  influenza.  We  were  having  the 


282  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

Tisual  sort  of  conversation,  when  everything  was  illu- 
minated by  the  entrance  upon  the  scene  of  the  gallant 
General  Okasaki,  wearing  all  his  medals  and  waving  in 
his  hand  a  small  Japanese  flag.  He  was,  in  feet,  as  gay 
and  debonair  as  a  man  ought  to  be  on  his  wedding-day. 
He  gave  his  little  flag,  with  a  flourish,  to  Prince  Kuni ; 
he  caught  Vincent  by  both  hands  over  some  small  joke, 
and  shook  him  to  and  fro  in  pretended  annoyance.  In 
fa<)t,  he  was  essentially  human  and  delightful,  more  like 
a  vivacious  Irishman  in  high  good  spirits  than  the 
reserved  and  very  correct  Japanese. 

I  told  him  he  must  go  a  bit  slower  in  his  victorious 
career,  or  he  would  kill  the  unfortunate  foreign 
attach^  who,  hard  as  they  may  work  with  their  pens 
and  ink  to  keep  pace  with  his  exploits,  were  yet  left 
hopelessly  in  arrears.  He  said,  pointing  to  General 
Euroki,  *^  My  instructions  came  from  his  Excellency ;  I 
passed  them  on  to  my  regimental  commanders,  and  they 
and  their  men  carried  them  out  to  a  successful  issue ! " 

I  asked  him  if  some  tea  he  had  sent  me  long  ago  in  a 
present  had  been  grown  in  his  own  garden,  when  he 
laughed  very  much  and  said,  **  The  tea  was  Russian  tea, 
and  the  garden  it  sprang  from  was  my  sword." 

When  we  got  back  we  had  a  grand  dinner,  and  went 
afterwards  to  the  play,  which  was  held  in  a  Russian 
barrack-room.  Our  entrance  disturbed  the  "  turn  " 
which  was  in  progress,  and  the  proceedings  were  still 
more  interrupted  by  soldiers  bringing  us  each  a  little 
bowl  of  claret,  served  with  dried  fish  cakes  and  sweet 
biscuits.  An  English  audience  would  probably  have 
been  annoyed,  but  the  Japanese  certainly  were  not. 

Then,  to  my  surprise.  Marquis rose,  and,  thumping 

on  a  table  for  silence,  turned  towards  the  audience  and 
began  to  speak.  I  caught  my  own  name,  and  then  every 


Baxquets  and  Beysls  283 

one  in  the  theatre  stood  up ;  so  it  suddenly  flashed 
across  me  that  I  was  being  introduced  to  the  crowd.  I 
jumped  to  my  feet,  and  bowed  respectfiiUy  in  every 
direction.  This  seemed  to  be  all  correct  and  in  order, 
and  the  people  were  just  about  to  sit  down  when  the 
Post  Commandant  began  a  speech,  saying  that  the 
foreign  officers  and  the  Lieutenant-General  had  done 
him  a  great  honour  in  coming  to  witness  his  poor  enter- 
tainment, and  that  he  must  apologise  for  its  roughness, 
poverty,  and  general  inadequacy  for  such  an  occasion, 
to  which  I  made  what  reply  I  best  could. 

The  curtain  was  a  red  blanket  held  up  by  two 
Boldier8,  who  lay  down  on  a  given  signal  LtLd  of 
rising,  therefore,  it  feU,  and  the  play  then  began ;  not 
exactly  a  play,  but  what  the  Japanese  call  a  sword  dance. 
The  actor  had  to  avenge  his  brother,  and  he  went 
through  a  pantomime  of  adoring  his  sword  and  of  kiUing 
a  man  with  it.  All  this  took  a  very  long  time,  and  was 
ereatlv  appreciated  by  the  audience.  I  admired  the 
Ughtning  quickness  with  which  he  whipped  out  the 
blade,  and  delivered  the  deadly  sweeping  cut  from 
under. 

Next  appeared  a  Chinaman  from  the  village,  who 
gave  us  a  love-song  on  a  sort  of  zither.  He  played  well, 
laying  his  instrument  flat  upon  the  stage,  and  striking 
it  with  two  little  hammers.  He  was  a  man  of  middle 
age,  of  an  intellectual  type  of  countenance.  Indeed,  a 
serene  and  noble-looking  man.  Some  people  think 
Chinese  and  Japanese  resemble  one  another.  I  can  only 
say  that  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  any  members  of  the 
human  race  less  like  one  another  than  the  Japanese 
warrior,  with  menacing  gestures,  waving,  glittering 
sword,  bare  arms,  and  a  wisp  of  white  cloth  knotted 
tightly  round  his  temples,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 


284  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgbap-Book 

mild  and  melancholy  performer  on  the  zither.  After 
the  love-song,  Nakamura  produced  a  great  effect  by 
coming  out  in  front  of  the  curtain  and  announcing,  '^  A 
very,  very  pretty  girl  will  now  sing ! " 

All  things  are  possible,  and  there  was  quite  a  sensa- 
tion. The  curtain  fell,  and  before  us  stood  a  brawny 
soldier  of  the  line  dressed  as  a  geisha,  who  was  received 
with  a  roar  of  amused  disappointment.  But  he  proved 
to  be  a  dancer  light  as  air,  and  sang,  too,  of  love  and 
cherry  blossoms  as  if  he  had  been  to  the  manner  bom. 

Last  of  all,  a  Chinese  band  took  possession  of  the 
stage  and  &irly  let  themselves  go.  I  never  heard  such 
a  row.  An  earnest  old  man  beat  a  drmn  even  more 
conscientiously  than  the  gentlemen  with  pince-nez  who 
perform  at  Mr.  Wood's  concerts  in  the  Queen's  Hall ; 
not  intermittently,  however,  but  continuously  like  the 
drum  at  the  end  of  Tchaiko&ky's  1812  symphony. 
There  were  cymbals  large  and  loud,  and  cymbals  small 
and  piercing.  A  big  gong  of  the  "  come  to  dinner  " 
sort.  A  small  gong  set  in  a  frame  and  struck  every 
half-second  by  a  boy  armed  with  a  miniature  polo 
stick.  Two  reed  instrumentalists  who,  in  their  efforts 
to  compete  with  the  cymbals,  blew  out  their  cheeks  to 
an  extent  I  should  not  have  believed  possible.  Either 
Chinamen  have  stronger  lungs  than  Europeans  or  else 
the  walls  of  their  cheeks  must  be  much  more  elastic. 
Last  on  my  list,  but  not  least  in  performance,  was  the 
player  of  what  miist  certainly  be  the  germ  from  which 
sprang  our  church  organs.  A  powerfrd  musician, 
scarlet  and  perspiring  from  his  exertions,  blew  hurri- 
canes into  a  thing  which  looked  like  an  average-sized 
teapot  through  a  pipe  which  resembled  an  average 
teapot  spout.  Bound  the  teapot  were  set  pipes,  the 
longest  about  one  foot,  the  shortest  perhaps  four  or 


Bakqubtb  and  Revbls  285 

five  inches.  These  had  holes  cut  within  half  an  inch 
of  their  base,  just  like  the  holes  in  an  organ  pipe. 
Altogether  this  astonishing  band  has,  I  believe,  enabled 
me  to  realise  the  feelings  of  the  Philistine  who  goes  to 
hear  Wagner  because  it  is  the  fashion. 

The  end  of  all  things  was  the  entry  of  a  body  of 
stalwart  line  of  communications  troops,  who  marched  in 
with  steady  tramp  in  double  rank,  halted,  fronted,  and 
sang  the  National  Anthem,*"  in  which  we  all  joined, 
standing  up  at  ^'  attention ''  in  our  places. 

CoAL-MiNBS,  November  Athy  1904. — General  reaction 
after  yesterday.  Sumino  tells  me  that  arrangements 
are  made  when  a  free  issue  of  sak^  is  issued  to  the 
troops  on  such  an  occasion  as  yesterday  to  provide 
total  abstainers  with  an  alternative,  so  that  it  should 
not  be  possible  to  say  the  State  was  encouraging  the 
vice  of  drinking.  Thus  yesterday  three-fifths  of  the 
army  refused  sak^  and  received  in  lieu  a  packet  of 
sweetmeats.  There  is  a  camp  rumour  to  the  efiect  that 
Kuropatkin  has  destroyed  all  the  bridges  in  rear  of  his 
army,  so  that  the  next  battle  must  be  a  case  of  victory 
or  death.  This  supposed  desperate  resolve  is,  however, 
somewhat  discounted  by  the  fact  that  within  a  couple 
of  weeks  the  rivers  will  be  frozen  solid. 

CoAL-MiKES,  November  9tA,  1904. — ^When  I  got  up 

*  The  Japanese  national  anthem  is  difficult  to  translate.  The  literal 
Engliah  equivalent  is  as  follows :  '*  DyiiBaty  of  the  Emperor,  1000 
years  and  8000  years,  till  pebbles  lined  with  moss  and  became  a  big 
stone.''  I  am  sure  it  cannot  be  satisfactorily  rendered  into  ordinary 
smooth  English  verses.  But,  greatly  daring,  I  venture  to  submit 
a  humble  attempt  to  reproduce  the  idea  and  the  swing : 

The  great  rocks — ^the  great  rocks  and  the  pebble  stones 
Suffer  change,  sad  and  strange. 

The  Emperor !    The  Emperor  and  his  dynasty- 
Gods  divine — deathless  line  I 


286  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgbap-Book 

this  morning  at  7  o'clock  I  found  the  whole  place  in 
confusion^  several  fatigue-parties  being  busily  engaged 
in  covering  the  house  with  flags.  It  was  the  King's 
birthday,  and  by-and-by  ofiBicers  began  to  come  in 
with  congratulations,  and  even  sometimes  with  highly 
acceptable  gifts.  At  8  o'clock  Captain  Tanaka 
appeared,  bringing  with  him  an  enormous  case  of  the 
best  champagne  as  a  present  from  the  Marquis 
Oyama.  So  as  to  be  first  in  the  field  he  had  started 
in  the  dark  and  bitter  cold  at  6  a.m.  from  Manchuriau 
Army  Headquarters.  Another  officer  arrived  con« 
ve3ring  the  felicitations  of  Generals  Eodama  and 
Fukushima.  Next  came  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eurita 
on  behalf  of  Greneral  Euroki,  accompanied  by  the 
adjutant  of  His  Imperial  Highness  Prince  Euni» 
and,  in  short,  I  found  myself  drinking  the  King's 
health  in  champagne  and  holding  an  informal  sort  of 
lev^  between  the  hours  of  eight  and  eleven.  Tanaka 
was  the  last  to  leave,  and  he  celebrated  the  auspicious 
occasion  by  dedicating  to  me  three  poems  about  Euro* 
patkin,  which  he  signed  "  Tonmiy  Atkins." 

I  will  first  give  my  English  rendering;  then  the 
Japanese  with  the  literal  translations.      The    first 
verse  is  all  a  skilful  punning  play  on  the  names  of 
the  leading  generals.      Thus  Europato,   the  black 
pigeon ;  Oyama,  big  mountain  ;  Euroki,  black  tree ;  &c. 

THE  ENEMY'S  CHIEF.* 

No.  1. 

In  the  great  mountain,  by  the  eternal  snows, 
So  far  it  i8,a  gloomy  forest  grows, 
'Neath  whioh  dark  bloodstains  mark  the  fatal  spot 
Where  the  black  pigeon  felt  the  deadly  shotJ 

*  In  Japanese  Kuropatkin  means  Black 


I   «i^ 


Banquets  and  Revels  287 

No.  2. 
He  turned  to  gase  once  more  on  Bama's  shrine : — 
O'er  all  its  memories  of  mirth  and  wine 
The  same  moon  shone!    He  sparred  his  chai'ger  white  * 
And  vanished  like  a  snowstonn  in  the  night. 

No.  8. 
The  mountains  shake  and  shudder  to  their  oore, 
As  Echo  spreads  the  cannon's  hollow  roar ; 
The  pigeon,  the  black  pigeon,  wings  his  flight 
For  distant  Adds  before  the  fall  of  night. 

No:  1. 
Kurqpaio  no  bakuyei. 
Oyama  no  Ohu  no  Koda/ma  ni 

osoreken 
Kwroki  hato  yoyo 
Nozumai  wo  shite. 
Far  up  in  the  great  mountain  in  black  trees  he  brought 
down  a  black  pigeon  with  a  small  bullet. 

No.  2. 
Furikaeri  Tekisho  ikami 
Nagameken  ikuyo 
minareshi  ramato  no 

tswki. 
Turning  back  the  enemy's  chief  gases  upon  and  sees  how 
night  after  night  used  to  look  the  moon  of  Bama's  pagoda 

No.  8* 
The  black  pigeon  frightened  by  the  echoes  in  the  mountains 
flies  to  sleep  ''  in  the  field  "  during  the  night. 

At  night  a  grand  banquet  was  given  in  honour  of 
our  King.  The  walls  of  the  dining-hall  were  decorated 
with  Japanese  flags,  and  also  with  the  word  ^^  Hurrah !  " 
done  in  huge  Gothic  letters  by  Nakamura.  The  letters 
were  formed  by  pasting  yellow  kaoliung  seeds  upon 
a  white  background,  and  gave  the  effect  of  old  gold* 

*  According  to  the  Japanese,  Kuropatkin  always  rode  a  white 
horse. 


288  A  Staff  Offigkb's  Sobap-Book 

The  table  was  gay  with  flowers  and  dwarf  flowering 
bushes  which  the  soldiers  had  constructed  with  infinite 
trouble  out  of  brushwood,  upon  which  (after  bending 
it  to  the  true  artistic  curves)  thej  had  stuck  bunches 
of  cotton  wool  and  small  flowers  cut  out  of  carrots. 
There  were  also  any  number  of  white  and  yellow  roses 
most  cunningly  devised  out  of  tissue  paper. 

After  dinner  and  speeches  we  adjourned  to  the 
next  room,  and  Nakamura  gave  a  performance  pre- 
tending to  be  something  or  some  one.  I  forget  exactly 
what  it  was  all  about,  but  I  know  he  imitated  animals 
and,  in  our  exhilarated  condition,  made  us  laugh  until 
the  tears  ran  down  our  cheeks.  All  this  time  the 
band  of  the  Imperial  Guards,  which  had  been  sent 
down  to  do  honour  to  the  occasion,  had  been  playing 
very  vigorously,  and  it  was  to  the  strains  of  a  polka 
that  Sergeant-Major  Watanabe  entered  the  ante- 
room. He  had  been  wondering  for  some  days  how  he 
could  pay  me  the  greatest  compliment,  and  he  had 
determined  that  as  I  was  there  as  representative  of 
the  Army  of  India,  he  would  get  himself  up  as  a  native 
of  Hindustan.  Accordingly  he  painted  his  face  coal 
black,  and  put  on  a  heavy  fur  coat,  hair  outwards- 
He  looked  extraordinary,  and  made  us  roar  with 
laughter,  and  was  altogether  a  great  success,  for  he  is 
ordinarily  an  austere  man  with  very  high  standards  of 
discipline  and  decorum.  On  entering,  he  presented 
me  with  his  visiting  card,  on  which  was  written  "  The 
Honourable  Mr.  India." 

Next  came  Sergeant-Major  Sumino,  dressed  as  a 
fashionable  Chinese  lady,  in  a  bodice  and  skirt  of 
beautiful  flowered  silk.  Then  a  soldier  of  the  train 
made  his  appearance  costumed  as  a  geisha  in  wig  and 
kimono,  the  latter  only  a  red  blanket,  but  so  wonder^ 


Banquets  and  Revels  289 

Ailly  manipulated  with  pins  and  strings  that  it  caused 
the  more  sentimental  to  sigh. 

Lastly,  four  band  boys,  attired  as  European  ladies, 
appeared  upon  the  scene,  and  danced  a  set  of  lancers 
with  four  bandsmen.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
painstaking  punctilio  with  which  they  ploughed 
through  their  figures.  It  was  most  amusing  to  see 
these  extraordinary  looking  females  working  away  in 
so  solemn  and  correct  a  style  at  their  fi^ivolous  task. 

After  this  I  thought  it  was  full  time  for  Lieutenant- 
Generals  to  go  to  bed.  A  child  has  to  take  itself  ofi* 
just  when  the  fun  gets  fast  and  furious,  and  men  over 
forty-five  should  learn  to  do  the  same.  When  I  did 
turn  in,  it  was  with  a  strong  feeling  that  nowhere  in 
the  wide  dominions  of  the  King  had  his  birthday 
begun  earlier  or  lasted  longer  than  at  the  coal-mines  of 
YentaL 

November  23rd,  1904. — Just  returned  from  a 
luncheon  with  the  Marquis  Oyama  and  General 
Kodama. 

I  must  say  the  latter  is  a  marvel.  He  was  ten 
hosts  in  one.  Told  stories.  Boared  with  laughter. 
Shouted.  Drank  toasts  with  every  one  all  round.  I 
watched  him  and  saw  him  in  the  midst  of  all  his 
jollity,  forced  jollity,  no  doubt,  but  still  extraordinai'ily 
well  forced.  I  watched  him,  and  I  saw  how,  when 
Marquis  Oyama  occasionally  took  up  the  parable,  or 
when,  from  some  other  cause  he  was  free  to  drop  out, 
his  face  fell  instantly  into  lines  of  the  deepest  concen- 
tration and  thought.  Once  I  observed  him  casting  his 
keen,  penetrating  glance  over  us  one  by  one,  sizing 
us  up  to  a  nicety  I  am  certain.  Somehow  he  brought 
to  my  mind  the  line, 

"  Ambition  pale  of  cheek  and  ever  watchful  with  fatigued  eje.'^ 
II  T 


CHAPTEE  XXXV 
NAKAMURA  ENCOUNTERS  SANTA  CLAUS 

Coal-Mikes,  November  29th,  1904. — ^I  heard  yesterday 
that  Okasaki  was  iU  and  was  going  back  to  Japan  this 
morning.  So  I  walked  down  after  breakfast  to  see 
him  off  at  the  Yentai  railway  station.  When  I  got 
there  I  was  told  that  Okasaki's  train  would  not  start 
for  some  little  time,  but  that  the  General  was  at  the 
Post  Commandant's  house,  and  would  be  glad  to  see  me 
if  I  cared  to  come  up.  I  walked  across  at  once  and 
was  shown  into  an  empty  room.  After  a  few  minutes 
the  gallant  General  came  in,  and  his  appearance  gave 
me  a  terrible  shock.  Last  time  I  had  seen  him  was 
upon  the  Emperor's  birthday,  when  he  was  the  very 
personification  of  careless,  rollicking  joviality.  He 
had  been  through  all  his  bloody  battles  and  had 
emerged  ever^victorious,  without  so  much  as  a  scratch. 
The  most  famous  man,  perhaps,  in  the  Army.  I  can 
never  forget  him  on  that  occasion  bursting  into  the 
tent  waving  his  little  flag — so  fit  and  jolly.  And 
now,  what  was  this  ?  A  grey,  haggard  figure  in  a 
long,  full-skirted,  shroud-like  dressing-gown,  with  a 
small  red  cross  worked  upon  the  sleeves,  whilst  the 
whole  of  his  head  and  neck,  excepting  just  the  face, 
were  swathed  in  white  bandages.  He  looked  exactly 
like  an  animated  corpse.  He  begged  us  to  seat  our- 
sdlTes  by  the  hibachi  with  his  old  familiar  gesture,  but 


NAKAMtJttA  Encounters  Santa  Claus      291 

we  were  horrified  and  could  not.  I  just  said,  **  I  have 
come.  General,  to  wish  you  bon  voyage  and  au  revoir.'^ 
He  said,  *'  I  have  got  this  tiresome  tumour,  which  my 
friends  assure  me  will  be  better  operated  upon  at 
Hiroshima  than  here ;  so  I  have  yielded  to  their  im- 
portunities and  am  going  very  quickly  so  as  to  get 
back  again  also  as  quickly  as  possible."  This  was 
very  pitiable.  I  felt  the  sentiment  of  sorrow  rise 
quite  painfully  in  my  heart.  I  said,  *^  My  General, 
we  all  await  your  early  return,  and  until  you  come 
back  you  leave  us,  at  any  rate,  the  famous  mountain, 
Okasaki  Yama,  the  scene  of  your  greatest  exploit,  by 
which  to  bear  you  afiectionately  in  mind."  The  others 
told  me  afterwards  that  my  remark  seemed  to  please 
him,  but  I  felt  rather  overcome  at  seeing  the  poor 
wasted  body  and  drawn  features  of  one  who  had  been 
so  preux  chevalier — so  famoused  in  fight — and  could 
not  notice  much  more.  For  we  shall  never  see  him 
again.  Sic  itur  ad  astra.  Vanity,  vanity,  all  is 
vanity,  saith  the  preacher.* 

December  Ist^  1904. — Have  spent  a  long  day  inspect* 
ing  the  80th  Begiment  under  the  French-speaking 
Colonel  Kawasaki.  The  men  are  living  in  excava- 
tions rather  than  in  houses,  that  is  to  say,  the  roofe 
are  only  about  two  feet  above  the  ground,  whilst  the 
floors  are  about  eight  feet  below  the  ground.  After 
luncheon  the  Colonel,  pointing  to  the  red  slip  with 
Chinese  characters  on  it  which  was  pasted  over  the 
door,  said,  ^*  Every  Chinese  house  contains  that  notice. 
The  characters  signify  good  fortune  and  happiness,  and 
it  is  considered  a  good  thing  if  the  owner  on  awakening 

*  To  the  delight  and  surprise  of  every  one,  including  the  doctors, 
Okasaki  did  recover  and  came  hack  again  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months. 


292  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

in  the  morning  lets  his  eyes  first  rest  upon  words  of 
such  good  omen."  Kawasaki  went  on  to  tell  us  that 
in  one  villajre  a  rich  Chinaman  with  a  fine  house 
lagged  f  b:«c««d  havbg  soldiers  biUetsd  upon  him 
on  the  plea  that  all  the  rooms  were  occupied  by  women 
and  children.  After  some  argument  he  was  allowed 
to  have  his  way,  and  a  notice  was  being  written  out,  in 
the  ordinary  course,  with  a  paint  brush  and  Indian  ink 
upon  white  paper,  to  say  that  the  house  was  privileged 
and  that  Japanese  soldiers  were  forbidden  to  enter  it. 
The  Chinaman  watched  the  preparation  of  this  notice 
with  great  apparent  interest,  and  when  it  was  ready 
asked  what  was  going  to  be  done  with  it.  "  Oh," 
said  Colonel  Kawasaki,  ''  it  will  be  pasted  upon  the 
outside  of  your  door.''  The  Chinaman  seemed  much 
disturbed,  and  after  some  hesitation  he  begged  that 
the  paper  might  be  destroyed,  as  he  had  changed  his 
mind  and  would  place  his  quarters  at  the  disposal  of 
the  soldiers.  On  inquiry  the  Colonel  found  that  black 
characters  on  white  paper  are  just  about  as  unlucky  a 
combination  as  it  is  possible  for  a  Chinaman  to  en- 
counter. Presumably,  if  this  villager  ever  reaches 
London  town,  his  literature  will  be  confined  to  the 
Pink  '  Un  and  the  Westminster  Gazette. 

CoAL-MiNBS,  December  5th,  1904. — The  thermo- 
meter touched  zero  for  the  first  time  last  night.  There 
is  a  cave  in  front  of  our  army  which  is  occupied  by  the 
Bussians  at  night  and  by  the  Japanese  in  the  day- 
time. The  Bussians  recently  left  the  cave  in  a  very 
dirty  condition,  so  the  Japanese  wrote  a  note  asking 
that  their  mutual  abode  might  be  kept  cleaner.  This 
note  was  deposited  upon  the  ground,  together  with  a 
bottle  of  brandy,  when  they  marched  out  in  the 
evening.     Next  morning  the  cave  was  clean,  and  a 


Nakamura  Encountebs  Santa  Glaus      293 

rouble  was  lying  on  the  ground  to  pay  for  the  brandy. 
There  was  also  a  note  saying  that  in  future  the  cave 
should  be  kept  clean ,  but  that  all  the  same  the 
Japanese  were  devils  to  kill  all  the  wounded. 
Hagino  is  now  inditing  an  epistle,  with  enclosures, 
showing  the  number  of  Bussian  wounded  who  are 
actually  in  Japanese  hospitals.  This  also  will  be  lefb 
in  the  cave  post-office. 

CoAL-MiNBS,  December  ^th,  1904. — Bitter,  bitter 
cold.  I  hear  that  the  troops  at  the  front  are  seriously 
embarrassed  by  the  fact  that  the  rice  on  its  passage 
to  the  advanced  trenches  turns  into  ponderous  marble 
blocks  upon  which  a  bayonet  produces  no  great  effect. 
Imagine  being  served  up  a  chunk  of  marble  for  dinner 
with  the  thermometer  at  zero ! 

CoAL-MiNES,  December  9thy  1904. — Two  hundred 
ducks  and  chickens,  our  winter's  store,  were  put  on 
the  roof  by  the  cook  last  night,  and  they  are  all,  every 
single  one,  frozen  to  death  this  morning  I 

CoAL-MiNES,  December  19th,  1904. — Have  been 
very  busy  report  writing,  and  have  had  nothing  special 
to  record  for  a  long  tune,  except  interviews  and 
consultations  regarding  medical  and  transport  ques- 
tions. To-day  we  had  a  meeting  to  test  the  captured 
Bussian  rifles.  The  targets  were  of  the  ordinary 
bull's-eye  pattern  and  the  distance  was  about  600 
yards.  The  stop  butt  was  Ishi  Yama.  I  little  thought 
on  October  12th  that  I  should  ever  be  firing  a  rifle 
against  Ishi  Yama  myself  I  The  Bussian  rifles  are 
sighted  for  firing  with  the  bayonet  fixed,  and  we  had 
to  use  them  without  a  bayonet,  which  made  the 
shooting  most  difficult.  Luckily  we  were  allowed  two 
sighting  shots,  and  after  my  second  try  I  found  it  was 
necessary  to  aim  about  three  yards  below  the  target 


294  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

and  about  five  yards  to  the  left  of  it.  The  result  i^as 
a  splendid  triumph  for  the  British  army.  Colonel 
Hume  won  the  first  prize,  tieing  with  a  Japanese 
adjutant,  and  I  won  the  second  prize,  dean.  Hoifr 
delighted  Lord  Roberts  would  have  been  with  our 
success,  for  we  are  both  members  of  his  old  team 
which,  in  its  day,  has  won  some  notable  victories  in 
India.  I  got  a  very  nice  prize  indeed;  a  barrel  of 
pickled  cabbages. 

I  have  now  got  a  small  Chinese  boy,  aged  about 
twelve,  to  help  to  light  the  stove  and  clean  my  lamp. 
I  asked  him  to-day  if  he  liked  Bussians  and  he  replied 
indignantly,  "  No !  "  Asked  again,  "  Why  not  ?  "  he 
said,  "  They  have  big  noses  and  eyes."  I  suppose  if 
bad  boys  in  England  were  asked  why  they  flung  a 
stone  at  a  Chinaman  they  might  very  probably  say, 
*'  Because  they  have  small  eyes  and  no  noses." 

CoAL-MiNES,  Z)6cem6er  22nd,  1904. — Vincent  and  I 
have  had  a  delightful  outing.  We  went  to  a  quiet 
luncheon,  just  our  two  selves,  with  General  Kodama, 
Chief  of  the  General  Staff.  Had  a  Cossack  patrol 
passed  that  way  there  was  nothing  to  show  them  that 
Yentai  village  was  the  abode  of  Manchurian  Army 
Headquarters,  except  perhaps  the  numerous  conveiging 
telegraph  and  telephones  lines  which  centred  at  the 
brain  of  the  military  organism.  No  guards,  no  patrols, 
hardly  any  troops,  just  a  common  Chinese  village.  We 
were  shown  in  at  once  to  the  quarters  of  the  Chief  of 
the  Staff,  quite  a  small  building.  The  General's  room 
was  about  twelve  feet  by  fifteen  feet.  A  Bussian 
drum  filled  with  charcoal  embers  was  the  hibachi,  and 
the  furniture  consisted  of  one  table,  two  broken-down 
chairs,  and  several  boxes  of  maps. 

I  started  by  saying  that  I  did  not  intend  to  ask  any 


Nakamuba  Enoocjntbbs  Santa  Claus      295 

questions  about  the  present  state  of  affiiirs,  but  added 
that  if  General  Kodama  would  enlighten  me  on  a  few 
obscure  points  regarding  the  past  events,  his  views 
would  be  of  inestimable  value. 

His  Excellency  spent  an  hour  and  a  half  telling  me 
all  I  wanted  to  know,  and  seemed  in  the  best  of  spirits 
and  full  of  keenness. 

He  showed  me  his  left  wrist,  the  bone  of  which  had 
been  injured  in  the  Satsuma  rebellion,  and  I  was  able 
to  respond  by  showing  him  my  left  wrist,  the  bone  of 
which  had  been  injured  at  Majuba. 

I  told  him  I  had  that  day  received  a  request  for  an 
autograph  from  a  small  boy  at  Osaka,  and  he  showed 
me  a  pile  of  applications  fh)m  school  children  which, 
he  said,  he  always  met  as  far  as  he  could.  He  pro- 
duced a  postcard  written  by  his  grandchild,  aged  three, 
wishing  him  a  safe  and  early  return.  Then  we  began 
to  talk  about  His  Excellency's  old  life  when  he  was 
Governor  of  Formosa.  He  was  very  much  interested 
and  pleased  to  narrate  his  experiences  in  that  capacity, 
and  he  showed  me  a  photograph  of  his  house  there, 
which  is  a  stately  and  beautiful  edifice. 

At  this  stage  luncheon  was  brought  in.  Very 
delicious.  Soup,  duck,  Formosa  oranges,  Kioto  cakes, 
and  red  wine.  At  1.10  p.m.  a  wire  arrived  from  Port 
Arthur,  which  General  Kodama  at  once  read  out.  It 
was  to  say  that  west  of  Sei-ho-han,  where  a  peninsula 
sticks  out  into  Pigeon  Bay,  one  gun  had  been  taken. 
The  Bussians  tried  a  counter-attack,  but  &iiled. 

Isaid  to  General  Kodamalhad  brought  him  luck, and 
he  agreed,  saying  that  he  had  not  expected  this  excellent 
news  so  soon.  The  point  now  captured  should  com- 
mand the  road  by  which  supplies  have  until  now  been 
entering  the  town  nightly  from  junks  in  Pigeon  Bay. 


296  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

After  lunch  we  took  our  leave,  very  grateful  for  all 
the  kindness  we  had  received,  and  especially  for  the 
many  useful  notes  we  had  obtained  for  our  official 
reports. 

CoAL-MiNES,  Christmas  Dciyy  1904. — I  rode  over 
this  morning  to  make  my  salaams  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  Second  Army.  I  am  sure  the  people  at  home, 
especially  those  in  London,  have  not  half  as  fine  a  day 
as  we  have  here.  There  is  a  gentle  breeze  fi'om  the 
south  and  a  bright  sun,  and  under  influences  so  genial 
the  thermometer  has  risen  to  within  four  or  five 
degrees  of  thawing-point,  a  temperature  which 
makes  our  Arctic  furs  seem  almost  oppressive.  The 
country  was  powdered  with  dazzling  snow,  and  our 
ride  across  the  bloody  fields  of  Terayama  and  Sank- 
waisekisan  was  most  peaceful  and  lovely  to  the 
view,  although  up  against  the  soft  southern  wind  a 
muffled  cannonade  kept  ever  rumbling  and  muttering 
from  behind  the  rampart  of  the  northerly  ridge  of 
mountains. 

In  the  evening  we  had  a  great  feast.  Mistletoe  in 
abundance,  a  wretched  mockery  under  the  circum- 
stances. I  thought  of  the  previous  year,  and  of  how 
we  all  stood  before  the  porch  and  draining  our  glasses 
flung  them  lordly  (they  were  not  ours)  on  the  ground. 
The  cold  and  frosty  stars  had  twinkled  above  us,  and 
in  the  intoxication  of  that  sweet  moment  the  absence 
of  mistletoe  passed  unnoticed  by  all. 

Each  member  of  the  company  of  foreign  officers 
felt  probably  some  such  sad  contrast,  for  the  gaiety 
was  forced,  so  at  least  it  seemed  to  me.  But  one  little 
figure  was  determined  to  be  gay  ;  truly  gay,  and  not 
only  in  seeming.  This  was  Nakamura,  our  interpreter^ 
who  climbed  up  painfully  on  to  the  side  table,  blinking 


.^H 


Nakamuba  Encountebs  Santa  Claus     297 

like  a  young  owl  behind  his  spectacles,  whence  he 
delivered,  with  surprising  boldness,  the  following 
oration : 

"  Gentlemen, — I  had  too  much  to  read  last  night 
and  was  sitting  up  till  it  was  very  late.  So  I  could 
not  get  up  this  morning,  when  a  strange  old  man  was 
standing  in  my  room.  I  knew  surely  that  he  was 
Santa  Glaus.  I  jumped  upon  my  bed,  and  respectfully 
but  merrily  bid  him  '  A  Merry  Ghristmas.'  He  was 
pleased,  and  handed  me  a  letter,  as  well  as  a  bag,  to 
deliver  to  you.  But  when  I  saw  the  address  on  the 
envelope,  it  was  written,  *  Dear  Ghildren,  Huangpu 
Goal-mine,  Manchuria.'  I  was  quite  puzzled,  for,  as 
you  know,  there  is  no  children  in  this  house,  and  told 
him  of  that.  He  looked  quite  astonished,  and  stared 
on  my  face  for  a  while.  Then  he  laughed,  and  laughed 
heartily,  and  said,  *  My  child,  do  you  think  you  are  a 
grown  up  man  ? '  I  said,  '  Yes.'  *  Oh  no,'  he  said  to 
me,  *  You  are  only  a  baby.'  And  again,  *  Do  you 
think  General  Hamilton  is  an  old  man  ? '  '  Yes,  I  do, 
and  he  is  the  eldest  of  all.'  '  No,  no,'  he  said,  '  he  is 
also  my  boy.'  I  was  quite  stupefied,  but  he  asked  me 
once  more,  *  Do  you  think  Gaptain  Hoffmann  is  a  large 
man  ? '  I  said,  *  Yes,  of  course,  he  is  so  tall  and  big 
as  Gorias.'  *  Oh  no,  my  child,'  he  said,  '  they  are  all 
my  children,  and  by  dear  children  here  I  mean  all 
seventeen  people  in  this  house.'  When  I  thought  I 
could  understand  him,  he  jumped  upon  his  sledge  a'nd 
ran  off  to  the  northerly  direction."  (Hoots,  jeers, 
and  loud  cries  of  "  Spy  !  Spy ! !  He  must  have  been 
a  Spy.")* 

*  In  our  reports  the  stock  phrase  used  to  be  that  the  Russians 
were  retiring  "  in  a  northerly  direction." 


298  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

''  Now»  Gentlemen,  here  is  the  letter.  Let  me  read 
itr— 

" '  Dbab  Ghildben, — I  am  much  pleased,  for  you  have 
been  perfectly  good  through  this  year.  I  don't  like  to 
see  two  boys  are  quarrelling  now.  They  are  very 
naughty.  I  hope  they  will  shake  their  friendly  hands 
again  before  I  will  come  next  time.     (Cheers.) 

"*I  left  a  bag  with  your  good  General '  (laughter  and 
whistling)  ^Nakamura  to  open  it  before  you  this 
evening.  Now  goodbye,  my  children,  I  wish  you  a 
Merry  Christmas ! 

"  •  Your  old  friend, 

'' '  Santa  Claus.'  " 

The  speech  was  received  with  rapturous  applause, 
for  we  are  all  very  fond  of  Nakamura,  who  is  the  most 
unselfish  and  obliging  of  interpreters.  Simple  as  he 
seems  and  transparent,  yet,  as  with  most  Japanese, 
there  is  more  in  him  than  meets  the  eye,  and  although 
he  has  served  us  continuously  during  the  past  eight 
months,  no  one  had  ever  suspected  him  of  being  the 
possessor  of  so  much  courage  and  esprit  We  were  as 
much  surprised,  and  almost  as  greatly  pleased,  as  must 
have  been  the  mother  of  Demosthenes  when  she  heard 
him  speak  for  the  first  time  after  his  pebble  practice  on 
the  beach. 

CoAii-MiNEs,  December  26th,  1904. — Every  one  is 
very  late  in  consequence  of  the  number  of  last  night's 
toasts.  After  breakfast,  Nakamura  came  into  my 
room  with  a  large  card,  and  begged  me  to  write  upon 
it  a  verse  of  poetry  which  should  include  his  own  name. 
He  encouraged  me  to  believe  that  if  I  could  rise  to  the 
occasion,  the  card  would  be  handed  down  as  an  ancestral 
heirloom  in  the  Nakamura  family.     I  cannot  imagine 


Sir  Ian  Hauilton  and  "  RoosKr,"  December  1904 


Nakamura  Enoountebs  Santa  Glaus     299 

&mily  of  small  Nakamuras,  and  I  am  greatly 
thered  by  the  name^  but,  in  gratitude  for  his  ad- 
rable  speech  last  night,  I  managed  to  concoct  this 
lymeforhim: 

TO  THE  ENGLISH  INTERPRETER  WITH 

THE  FIRST  ARMY 

Tou  storm  the  bloodj  fortress  ditch 
And  otherwise  defeat  the  Russian, 
But  do  it  in  a  lingo  which 
Sounds  strange  as  English  to  a  Prussian ; 
Twere  hopeless  did  we  l^ck  as  sure  a 
Translator  as  our  Nakamura. 

OoAL-MiNES,  New  Year's  Day,  1905. — Had  quite 
a  quiet  dinner  last  night.  As  the  clock  struck  twelve 
America  and  Great  Britain  foregathered  and  drank  a 
bottle  of  Oyama's  champagne,  exchanging  affectionate 
good  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  our  mutual  nations 
during  the  coming  year.  I  doubt  if  people  in  England 
realise  the  special  kindness  shown  by  all  Americans  to 
British  officers  in  foreign  countries.  They  look  upon 
us  as  a  sort  of  Prodigal  Mother,  and  kill  the  fatted 
calf  accordingly. 

I  went  over  in  the  forenoon  to  pay  my  respects  to 
General  Kuroki,  and  heard  that  a  Cossack  officer  had 
come  out  under  a  white  flag  and  had  received  per- 
mission to  converse  for  half  an  hour  with  a  Japanese 
officer.  It  was  stipulated  that  no  military  matters 
were  to  be  discussed.  The  confabulation  lasted  three 
hours,  and  the  Cossack  says  he  will  bring  a  dozen  oi 
his  comrades  with  him  next  time.  The  language  was 
French. 

II  P.M. — Only  a  few  minutes  ago  I  was  writing  in 
the  dead  sileace  of  the  night  wherein  no  one  but 
myself  seemed  to  be  alive.    I  love  such  moments  when 


300  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

the  last  tiresome  sounds  of  conversation  have  died 
away,  and  it  is  possible,  for  a  brief  interval,  to  enjoy 
the  calm  of  reflection.  Suddenly,  up  rose  a  strange, 
fierce  song  floating  through  the  calm  air  of  thei  spacious 
night.  In  cadence  and  tone  it  recalled  the  dervish 
chants  which  bade  us  prepare  for  battle  in  the 
memorable  nights  when  we  bivouacked  on  the  banks 
of  the  Nile.  This  must  surely  be  the  psean  of  trixmiph 
over  the  fall  of  Port  Arthur.  All  the  soldiers  are 
singing  .  .  .  just  as  I  realised  what  had  happened, 
I  heard  hurried  footsteps  and  the  clank  of  a  sword  come 
swiftly  down  the  passage.     The  door  was  flung  open, 

and ,  his  face  a  pale  livid  colour,  and  his  eyes  blazing 

with  excitement,  stood  on  the  threshold.  For  one 
moment  he  stood  there  motionless,  with  only  his  face 
twitching  and  working,  then,  throwing  his  arms  up 
over  his  head,  he  shrieked  out,  "  Port  Arthur  ist 
gef alien ! "  and  disappeared  to  carry  on  the  great  news. 
Afterwards  Nakamura  came  in  to  thank  me  for  what 
he  was  pleased  to  call  "  my  unfailing  sympathy,"  I 
am  sympathetic,  and  yet  to-night  I  cannot  help  feeling 
sad  for  the  vanquished. 

CoAL-MiNES,  January  2nd,  1905. — Have  sent  in 
an  application  to  Marquis  Oyama  begging  permission 
to  visit  Port  Arthur.  I  asked  the  staff*  officer  through 
whom  I  made  the  request,  if  he  would  not  like  to  come 
also,  to  which  he  replied  by  the  Japanese  proverb, 
"  The  housewife  cannot  leave  the  house  1 " 

The  foreign  officers  went  again  to  the  play.  It  was 
held  in  the  same  Cossack  barrack-room,  and  the 
audience  must  have  numbered  at  least  one  thousand 
soldiers.  In  the  middle  of  the  room,  just  between  the 
pit  and  stalls,  was  a  table  covered  with  beer  bottles, 
dishes  of  fried  fish,  slices  of  preserved  bamboo,  pickled 


Nakamura  Encounters  Santa  Claus      301 

beans  and  hot  chestnuts.  To  this  we  were  led  and 
hospitably  pressed  to  fall  too.  I  sat  down  and  drank 
beer  and  ate  chestnuts,  which  reminded  me  of  home, 
Immense  joy  was  caused  to  the  audience  by  the 
appearance  of  two  soldiers  dressed  as  geishas,  who 
came  to  serve  us  with  sak^  and  beer  ;  but  I  was  sorry 
for  the  poor  performers  on  the  stage,  as  they  were 
quite  neglected,  all  eyes  being  fixed  on  the  foreign 
officer,  to  see  what  he  would  do.  I  drank  my  cup  of 
sak^,  and  then  bowed  and  made  my  counterfeit  Hebe 
drink  a  cup  herself  in  true  geisha  style,  whereby  I 
drew  loud  applause  and  laughter  from  all  parts  of  the 
house.  In  truth,  the  foreign  officers  were  more  the 
play  than  the  play  itself. 

I  will  not  write  another  account  of  the  stage  per- 
formance. As  usual,  there  was  a  minimum  of  love, 
wine,  plot  or  problem ;  but  any  amount  about  swords, 
duels,  battles  and  shooting.  The  Japanese  adore  the 
bright  eyes  of  danger.  Courage  is  the  quality  they 
worship.  After  all,  I  think  I  must  just  jot  down  the 
headings  of  one  of  the  plays  acted,  as  it  brings  out 
this  point  so  strongly. 

The  hero  was  a  very  poor  young  man  with  a  sick 
wife  and  a  child.  His  creditors  came  to  worry  him, 
just  as  they  worry  poor  young  men  in  England,  and 
after  a  long  argument  they  lost  their  patience  and 
tore  the  last  blanket  off  the  bed  of  the  poor  sick  wife. 
In  the  midst  of  the  painful  scene  a  postman  appeared 
and  handed  in  the  fatal  notice  which  summons  a 
reservist  to  join  his  regiment.  War  had  been  declared 
against  Russia,  and  the  poor  young  man  must  take 
the  field  against  the  enemies  of  his  country.  He  is 
thunderstruck.     It  is  the  finishing  stroke. 

When,   however,   the    creditors   understand  what 


nviHnca>vi^^MMM^v«^^^5=c^ 


302  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

has  happened,  they  are  pleased,  and  begin  to  have 
pity. 

They  tear  up  their  bills  and  receipts,  and,  not  content 
with  this  indulgence,  they  begin  in  generous  emula- 
tion to  give  to  their  debtor  all  that  they  possess.  The 
first  takes  off  his  waist-belt  and  says,  "'Here;  this 
cost  me  7  yen  50  sen — ^take  it ! ''  and  so  they  go  on 
until  they  are  stripped  stark  naked.  There  is  no 
alternative  but  to  go  home  dancing  through  the 
crowded  streets  almost  in  a  state  of  nature  ;  and,  as 
may  be  imagined,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  fun  about  this, 
especially  as  it  is  a  travesty  of  something  similar  in  the 
great  historical  romance  of  the  47  Bonins. 

The  young  man,  left  to  himself,  reviews  the  agony 
of  mind  through  which  he  has  just  passed  and  realises 
that  his  affection  for  his  family  is  so  strong  that  it  is 
calculated  to  interfere  with  his  whole-heaited  per- 
formance of  his  duty  as  a  soldier.  He  dreads  lest  his 
thoughts  might  wander  to  his  beloved  ones  when  his 
mind  should  be  entirely  concentrated  upon  how  he 
can  best  serve  the  interests  of  his  country.  He 
therefore  kills  his  wife  and  his  child.  The  audience 
applaud  the  act  with  wild  enthusiasm,  regarding  it 
as  sublime  and  almost  superhuman. 

A  policeman  comes  in  by  chance  and  discovers  the 
death  of  the  wife  by  the  blood  oozing  from  beneath 
the  blanket.  When,  however,  he  fully  understands 
what  has  happened  and  for  what  motive,  he  is  so  lost 
in  admiration  that  he  cheerfully  resigns  his  chance  of 
making  a  name  for  himself  by  taking  the  young  man 
prisoner,  and  bestows  upon  him  instead  his  warm 
congratulations. 

Goal-Mines,  Janua/ry  15«A,  1905. — To-day  being 
the  Japanese  New  Tear,  I  went  to  a  feast  with  General 


Nakamuba  Encounters  Santa  Claus     303 

Kuroki.    There  were  no  speeches,  but  every  one  was 

very    cheery  and  kind.      The  bandsmen,   dressed   as 

European  women,  came  in  again,  and  danced  a  Lancers 

ijvith   others  dressed  as  Chinamen,  officers,  etc.     The 

costumes  were  very  stranga      One  little  girl  had  tow 

hair  down  her  back ;  her  face  painted  white ;  a  red 

straw  hat  and  black  stockings.     Another  had  a  white 

straw  hat  with  a  white  feather  sticking  out  of  it.      I 

was  touched  by  the  kindness  of  the  waiter,  who  talks  a 

little  English.      He  saw  several  officers  egging  these 

pseudo  females  on  to  come  and  pour  me  out  some  wine. 

So,  being  afraid  I  might  make  a  fool  of  myself,  he  came, 

and  while  pretending  to  brush  away  some  grains  of 

rice,  whispered  in  my  ear,  "  Do  not  be  deceived — they 

are  only  bandsmen  dressed  up  as  women." 

A  deputation  of  Chinamen  came  to  wait  upon  Kuroki 
to-day,  and  said  that  in  the  last  fifty  years  so  mild  a 
winter  as  the  present  has  never  been  experienced. 
Putting  this  together  with  the  phenomenally  light 
rain  in  the  summer  which  was  such  a  Godsend  to  the 
First  Army,  they  think  there  is  magic  in  it  and  wish 
to  learn  the  secret. 

The  story  led  on  to  some  general  conversation  about 
the  Chinese,  which  interested  me  greatly.  From  all  I 
can  gather,  after  a  fairly  close  study  of  the  question 
on  the  spot,  there  is  no  doubt  at  all  that  the  northern 
Chinese  peasant  will  make  an  excellent  soldier.  He 
is  hardy,  obedient,  brave  and  intelligent.  Ample 
material  is  also  available  for  the  requisite  number  of 
non-commissioned  officers.  But  as  regards  the  officer 
class,  the  situation  is  much  more  obscure.  I  may 
safely  say  that  in  the  meantime,  there  is  very  little 
prospect  that  China  will  be  able  to  create  a  corps  of 
officers.     What  I  have  seen  myself  of  Chinese  officers 


304  A  Staff  Officer's  Scgeiap-Book 

and  Chinese  militaiy  students  gives  me  the  strong 
belief  that  for  three  or  four  generations  to  come  it  will 
be  impossible  for  the  Middle  Kingdom  to  produce 
instructors  and  administrators  who  will  be  patriotic 
enough  to  resist  the  temptations  of  power  and  to 
devote  their  lives  to  an  ideal  higher  than  that  of 
money-making.  They  are  at  present  so  entirely  lacking 
in  the  true  military  feeling  that  they  will  have  to  be 
born  again  before  they  will  be  fit  for  the  position  held 
by  military  officers. 

These  are  my  opinions^  but  the  subject  is  mysterious 
and  it  is  of  course  conceivable  that  a  general  change 
might  take  place  suddenly  in  the  attitude  of  the  nation 
towards  the  profession  of  arms  which  would  awaken 
enthusiasm  dormant  for  1000  years,  and  flower  forth 
into  a  regenerated  corps  of  officers. 

The  Japanese  are  naturally  immensely  interested 
in  the  problem.  They  would  like  to  put  China  on 
her  feet,  but  not  on  horseback.  They  listen  with 
amused  contempt  to  the  common  Western  notion 
that  there  is  some  sort  of  an  affinity  between  a  China- 
man and  a  Japanese.  Except  the  shadowy  spiritual 
link  furnished  by  Confucius,  and  the  more  material 
one  of  identical  ideographs,  they  consider  a  Chinaman 
resembles  a  Western  much  more  nearly  than  any  in- 
habitant of  Dai  Nippon.  The  Chinaman  is  as  pure  a 
type  of  individualist  as  the  American  of  to-day  or  the 
Englishman  of  yesterday.  The  Japanese  is  nothing  if 
not  an  altruist. 

CoAL-MiNES,  Jcmuanry  15t/t,  1905. — I  rode  off  in  the 
morning  to  pay  my  respects  to  General  Umezawa,  an 
old  type  Japanese  warrior,  keen  and  determined  look- 
ing, not  altogether  unlike  General  Kodama.  He  told 
me  many  interesting  things  about  the  Yalu  fight  and 


n  I  ■  iM^^^— ^i— W— ^pwg<iWP—i— W— KPBWl^JtP^^'it"..'    ■"  «i     I        U^ 


Nakamuba  Encountebs  Santa  Claus     305 

about  Liaoyang.  He  also  gave  me  some  news  about 
little  Booeki,  He  says  she  is  well  known  to  have 
belonged  to  the  Bussian  general,  Count  Keller,  as 
staff  o£Bicers  had  seen  her  following  him  through  their 
telescopes  from  the  top  of  the  Motienling.  After  the 
battle  of  the  31st  of  July  she  was  found  lying  in  a 
basket  in  the  house  he  had  been  occupying.  The 
Japanese  soldiers  admired  the  bravery  of  Count 
Keller,  and  although  his  body  had  been  sent  away  to 
St.  Petersburg  they  intended  to  hold  a  funeral  cere- 
mony in  his  honour.  Part  of  the  programme  was 
the  sacrifice  and  burial  of  Ilooski,  in  the  ancient 
Japanese  style.  However,  when  they  came  to  lead 
her  out  to  the  execution  it  was  found  that  she  had 
gnawed  her  string  and  escaped.  I  am  not  certain 
whether  the  general  was  quite  serious  in  telling  me 
this  strange  story.  Certainly  it  was  told  seriously, 
and  certainly  when  I  found  Booski  on  the  30th  of 
August  she  had  a  string  round  her  neck. 


II 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

THE  DEVIL'S  PLOUGHING 

LiAOYANG,  January  16tA,  1905.— We  have  halted 
here  on  our  way  to  Port  Arthur,*  where  the  Head- 
quarters are  sending  us  on  an  excursion  in  a  special 
train.  I  have  much  to  he  thankful  for,  but  this  great 
consideration  and  indulgence  leaves  me  without  words 
to  express  my  gratitude. 

Near  Port  Arthur,  Janwory  18^^,  1905. — ^Arrived 
at  General  Nodzu's  headquarters,  after  a  cold  and 
weary  journey  in  the  train.  All  the  foreign  officers 
with  the  Second  Army  are  also  with  us,  so  we  make  up 
an  imposing  party.  The  others  are  acconunodated  in 
a  long  barrack-room  made  of  wood  and  matting:  I 
am  in  a  tiny  room  by  myself.  I  can  only  just  turn 
round  in  it,  but  it  is  as  good  from  my  point  of  view  as 
a  palace,  for  it  gives  me  seclusion  and  respite  to  think 
and  write. 

Near  Port  Arthur,  January  l^ih,  1905. — ^I  have 
been  introduced  to  General  Nogi.  He  is  tall,  slender 
and  grey,  and  appears  bright,  sensible  and  determined. 
He  shook  us  warmly  by  the  hand  all  round  and  seemed 
genuinely,  and  not  only  politely,  glad  to  see  us.  He 
said  that   most   of   his  staff  were  busy  entraining 

*  My  experiences  at  Port  Arthur  would  fill  a  large  Tolume  if  I 
treated  them  at  all  fully.  I  will  therefore  only  include  a  few  minor 
points,  more  with  the  object  of  giving  a  general  idea  of  my  adven- 
tures than  of  attempting  to  deal  seriously  with  the  subject  of  th^ 
siege. — I.  H. 


The  Dbyil'b  Ploughing  307 

troops  for  Liaoyang,  but  that  he  could  spare  us 
an  officer  to  take  us  over  his  battle-fields.  Beyond 
this  nothing  passed  but  compliments,  and  we  soon 
mounted  our  steeds.  On  the  way  to  the  forts 
I  made  friends  with  a  gay  and  festive  spark,  a 
bright,  quick,  talkative  young  officer,  who  had  been 
summoned  from  his  studies  in  Paris  on  the  outbreak 
of  the  war.  It  is,  indeed,  remarkable  how  the 
Japanese  are  able  to  assimilate  the  characteristics  of 
the  people  with  whom  they  consort.  But  I  fear  that 
the  joyous  efiervescence  supplied  by  a  Parisian  educa- 
tion will  soon  lose  its  piquancy  and  point  under  the 
pressure  from  above  and  below  to  which  an  officer 
must  as  a  rule  be  subjected. 

I  picked  up  a  few  odd  scraps  of  opinion  and  senti- 
ment during  my  ride.  The  Japanese  think  the 
Russian  sailors  better  men»  stronger,  more  intelligent 
and  more  highly  trained  than  their  soldiers.  The 
Japanese  admit  that  the  Russians  fought  bravely 
enough  at  Port  Arthur,  and  yet  there  is  not  a  man  in 
the  Third  Army  who  does  not  think  it  wrong  of  the 
garrison  to  have  surrendered.  To  illustrate  the 
Japanese  standpoint  I  am  told  that  if  his  Imperial 
Majesty  the  Emperor  gives  a  colour  to  a  regiment  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  single  man  to  die  before  it  is 
taken.  No  lower  standard  of  military  conduct  can 
find  acceptance  or  even  condonation.  If  a  private 
soldier  should  see  an  officer  waver  in  his  loyalty  so  far 
as  to  dream  of  surrender,  he  would  be  justified,  a 
hundred  times  over,  in  the  opinion  of  his  countrymen, 
if  he  were  to  head  a  mutiny  to  supersede  such  a  traitor. 

It  is  rather  interesting  to  hear  such  ideas  expressed 
just  at  the  moment  when  cables  tell  us  that  all  Europe 
is  acclaiming  the  heroism  of  the  Port  Arthur  garrison. 


308  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

I  stand  outside  the  question  altogether,  and  only  say 
that  opinions  so  conflicting  point  to  the  existence  oF  a 
formidable  gulf  between  the  military  ethics  of  East 
and  West. 

203  Metre  Hill,  Jomuary  20ih,  1905.— We  left 
our  camp  at  1  a.m.  Like  the  young  lady  of  Riga,  "we 
were  all  mounted  on  tigers.  Seriously,  I  never  saw 
such  devils.  We  had  to  practise  the  widest  exten- 
sions lest  we  killed  one  another.  In  spite  of  all 
precautions  the  horse  of  one  foreign  o£B.cer  reared  up, 
and  seizing  the  attache  of  a  friendly  Power  between 
its  fore  feet  flung  him  from  the  saddle.  In  the  con- 
fusion which  ensued  the  wild  beast  bestridden  by 
Vincent  kicked  the  Marquis  Saigo  on  the  leg.  How- 
ever, at  last  we  began  to  move,  and  then,  by  degrees, 
the  menagerie  became  less  violent. 

I  have  been  noting  down  these  silly  trifles  to  put 
ofi*,  as  far  as  possible,  the  moment  when  I  must  tiun 
to  the  ghastly  charnel-house  whither  my  steps  have 
now  led  me.  So  far  I  have  avoided  such  things 
because  I  hate  them,  and  also  because  I  feel  that 
many  writers  have  combined  to  give  the  world  a  false 
conception  of  war  by  pUing  up  its  horrors  beyond  all 
reasonable  measure.  But,  sitting  here,  I  should  go  to 
the  other  extreme  and  become  a  cowardly  suppressor 
of  the  truth  did  I  try  and  escape  altogether  from  some 
analysis  of  the  mountain  of  death  upon  which  I  find 
myself.    {See  Sketches  XXXVI.  and  XXXVII.) 

At  a  glance  it  springs  to  the  eyes  that  this  is  no 
ordinary  hill.  It  has  been  fairly  battered  out  of  its 
natural  shape  by  inhuman  agencies,  and  on  its  blasted 
and  shot-seared  surface  there  is  not  so  much  as  one 
dried  blade  of  grass ;  nothing  to  break  the  harshness 
of  the  devil's  ploughing  to  which  it  has  been  subjected 


The  Devil's  Ploughing  309 

but  here  and  there  the  faded  colour  of  a  woman's 
goiTvn  or  petticoat  which  has  been  used  to  make  sand- 
bags, or  the  leprous  yellow  splotches  left  by  the 
bursting  of  the  high  explosive  shells. 

The  manner  of  the  devil's  ploughing  is  thus : 
first  the  hill  has  been  sliced  into  numberless  deep 
gashes,  and  then  these  trenches  and  their  dividing 
^w^alls  have  been  smashed  and  poimded  and  crushed 
into  a  shapeless  jumble  of  stones;  rock  splinters 
and  fragments  of  shells  cemented  liberally  with 
human  flesh  and  blood.  A  man's  head  sticking  up 
out  of  the  earth,  or  a  leg  or  an  arm  or  a  piece  of 
a  man's  body  lying  across  my  path  are  sights  which 
custom  has  enabled  me  to  face  without  blanching. 
But  here  the  corpses  do  not  so  much  appear  to  be 
escaping  from  the  groimd  as  to  be  the  ground  itself. 
Everywhere  there  are  bodies,  or  portions  of  bodies, 
flattened  out  and  stamped  into  the  surface  of  the 
earth  as  if  they  formed  part  of  it,  and  several  times  in 
the  ascent  I  was  on  the  point  of  placing  my  foot  upon 
what  seemed  but  to  be  dust  when  I  recognised  by  the 
indistinct  outline  that  it  was  a  human  form  stretched 
and  twisted  and  rent  to  gigantic  size  by  the  force  of 
some  frightful  explosion. 

The  very  walls  still  standing  in  places  are  built  of 
alternate  layers  of  frozen  corpses  and  sandbags.  I 
have  written  enough ;  perhaps  too  much.  Sieges  are 
horrible  things.  A  good  fight  in  the  open — that  is 
another  matter. 

Riding  back,  my  French-speaking  friend  told  me 
that  his  father  had  been  killed  as  a  lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  wars  of  the  Rebellion.  He  hopes  there  will  be 
a  decisive  victory  soon. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  despite  the  dogged 


310  A  Stapf  Officeb's  Scrap-Book 

Japanese  courage  there  must  be  much  anxiety  amongst 
all  thinking  officers  as  to  the  effects  of  the  financial 
strain  of  this  war.     The  Japanese  have  enough,  and 
more  than  enough  territory.    If  the  exhausting  conflict 
lasts  too  long  they  will  find  themselves  left,  I  will  not 
say  penniless,  but  certainly  with  no  superfluous  cash  in 
their  pockets.     How  then  can  they  fulfil  their  destiny 
and  develop  Korea,  let  alone  Manchuria  ?   Even  as  it  is, 
foreign  capitalists  will,  in  the  first  instance,  reap  the 
chief  benefits  of  their  victories,  but  if  they  go  on  fighting 
much  longer,  even  the  small  margin  left  to  them  will 
disappear  and  they  will  not  be  able  to  draw  out  of  their 
new  possessions  anythmg  to  compensate  them  for  their 
efforta  Evidently  therefore  it  must  be  the  Japanese  aim 
to  force  the  Russians  into  peace  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Headquabtsbs,  Third  Abmy,  Janua/ry  21sty  1905^ 
— Spent  the  day  in  going  over  the  captured  forts  and 
the  trenches,  parallels  and  approaches  of  the  besiegers. 
The  impression  left  upon  my  mind  is  that  fortifications 
are  as  valuable  as  ever  for  vital  points.     The  mistake 
the  Russians  made  was  in  beginning  with  the  con- 
struction of  the  inner  line  of  forts  instead  of  first 
completing  the  outer  ring,  including  such  places  as 
203  Metre  Hill.     The  Japanese  allow  that  they  could 
never  have  taken  that  place  had  it  been  crowned  by  a 
permanent  work.     It  was  very  evident  fix>m  203  Metre 
Hill  to-day  that  a  harbour  or  dockyard  becomes  a  mere 
deathtrap  to  ships,  provided : 

(1)  That  the  enemy's  guns  can  get  withio  range 
for  indirect  firing. 

(2)  That  the  enemy  can  seize  any  one  point  from 
which  a  single  man  can  observe  and  correct  their 
fire. 

Against  an  extended  line  of  guns  hidden  away  behind 


J 


The  Devil's  Ploughing  311 

some  mountain  six  or  seven  miles  distant,  the  armament 
of  a  fortress  is  absolutely  useless.  The  concentrated 
guns  of  the  fort  have  not  a  hundred  to  one  chance  of 
disabling  the  concealed  and  dispersed  guns  of  the 
attack ;  whereas,  given  an  observation  post,  the  guns 
of  the  attack  can  hit  a  ship  or  house  every  time  they 
fire,  and  even  without  an  observation  they  can,  by  the 
aid  of  a  map,  direct  their  shells  towards  the  vitals  of 
the  harbour  or  town.  In  fact,  the  value  of  Gibraltar 
depends  upon  the  neutrality  of  Spain. 

Headquarters,  Third  Army,  January  22nd, 
1905,  11  P.M. — I  will  turn  the  day  topsy  tiwyy  and 
begin  at  the  end.  I  have  just  come  from  a  grand 
dinner  given  by  Nogi  to  all  foreign  officers.  I  sat  on 
his  right  hand,  and  turned  the  conversation  on  to  the 
subject  of  my  last  entry  yesterday.  His  Excellency 
said,  **  The  experiences  gained  during  the  siege  show 
that  a  town  or  harbour  cannot  be  protected  by  a  ring 
of  works  concentrated  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  It 
can  only  be  saved  from  destruction  by  outlying  forts 
twelve  kilometres  (eight  miles)  distant  from  the  vitals 
they  are  meant  to  cover.  To  have  forts  eight  kilo- 
metres (five  miles)  out  is,  nowadays,  no  use.  As  for  a 
fortified  harbour  or  town  without  any  outlying  works 
whatsoever,  I  would  merely  call  that  an  expensive 
shell  trap." 

One  great  fault  committed  by  the  Russians  consisted 
in  not  having  a  sufficiency  of  howitzers.  Another  was 
in  their  habit  of  placing  their  cannon  mounted  con- 
spicuously on  the  tops  of  the  hills,  where  howitzers,  by 
indirect  fire,  could  destroy  them  without  exposing 
themselves.  He  made  me  tell  him  a  great  deal  about 
Ladysmith,  and  he  seemed  much  struck  when  I  said 
that  the  only  guns  we  had  which  ever  caused  a  Boer 


312  A  Staff  Officer's  ScBuAP-Book 

Long  Tom  to  run  away  were  two  old,  black  powder  6.3 
howitzers  dating  from  the  Afghan  War. 

In  this  army,  as  in  all  others,  it  was  specially  intei'eet- 
ing  tostudy  the  differing  characteristics  of  the  Division& 
We  see  the  same  strong  distinction  between  our  own 
troops,  mainly  as  a  rule  in  consequence  of  the  idiosyn- 
crasies of  their  commanders.  In  General  Nogi's  army 
it  was  quite  extraordinary  how  the  individualities  of 
his  Divisions  came  out  in  the  nature  of  their  sap.  One 
Division  was  exceedingly  rapid  in  its  work,  but  left  a 
good  deal  to  chance.  Its  works  were,  in  fact,  horribly 
unsafa  When  any  visitor  went  into  the  trenches  he  was 
always  being  told  to  hurry  up  and  pass  along  quickly, 
for  bullets  came  hurtling  through  the  thin,  scrimped 
walls,  and  he  found  himself  committed  to  an  adventure 
almost  as  dangerous  as  an  advance  across  the  open- 
On  the  other  hand,  this  Division  always  got  through 
its  job  in  a  marvellous  short  space  of  time. 

Another  of  his  Divisions  was  fairly  safe,  but  not  so 
rapid. 

Tet  another  Division  constructed  its  trenches  so 
that  any  one  entering  them  was  as  safe  as  he  would 
have  been  in  a  Tokio  tea-house,  but  Port  Arthur 
would  not  have  fallen  for  another  year  had  every 
one  adopted  that  rate  of  progress.  The  prevention 
of  any  riot  or  disturbance  in  Port  Arthur  after 
the  capitulation  had  been  a  cause  of  great  anxiety. 
Much  trouble  had  been  taken  to  relieve  the  Russian 
guards  by  Japanese  sentries  in  the  due  course  of  relief. 
This  was  so  managed  that  before  the  public  had  time 
to  grasp  what  was  happening,  a  Japanese  sentry  was 
standing  on  duty  at  each  of  the  well-thought-out 
tactical  points  fixed  in  the  Russian  scheme  for  the 
maintenance  of  internal  order. 


^ 


Thb  Devil's  Ploughing  313 

Finally,  Nogi  told  me  that  his  worst  night  during 
the  whole  siege  was  that  of  January  2nd,  when  he 
could  not  sleep  a  wink  owing  to  cessation  of  the  firing. 

I  have  put  the  foregoing  down  quickly,  so  that  I 
may  forget  as  little  as  possible.  Now  I  must  hark  back 
to  the  morning. 

We  started  on  the  tigerish  steeds  at  9  a.m.  and  rode 
for  Port  Arthur.  On  the  way  my  new  friend  told  me 
of  a  former  ride  with  a  Russian  herald  or  parliamentaire 
on  January  3rd,  when  he  went  in  to  see  General 
Stoessel.  He  was  the  first  Japanese  who  had  entered 
the  town  since  the  declaration  of  war.  Naturally  he 
was  not  quite  happy,  and  feared  he  might  be  greeted 
with  some  uncomfortable  demonstrations.  What  was 
his  surprise,  however,  when  the  Cossacks  and  groups 
of  soldiers  took  off  their  caps,  waved  them,  and  called 
out,  "  Bravo  1 "  Once  he  got  among  the  streets  he 
had  some  difficulty  in  finding  Stoessel's  house.  At  last 
he  was  shown  the  way,  and  when  he  asked  the  sentry 
if  he  was  at  home  he  said  **  Da ! "  so  he  rang  fthe  bell. 
The  door  was  opened  by  an  old  man  whom  he  took  to 
be  Stoessel's  adjutant,  instead  of  which  he  turned  out 
to  be  the  general  himself,  who  ushered  him  into  a  room 
where  Madame  Stoessel  was  sitting.  There  he  delivered 
his  message  from  his  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor, 
saying  that,  as  Stoessel  had  fought  bravely,  he  might 
still  keep  his  sword.  Stoessel  replied  in  suitable  terms, 
and  asked  if  he  micrht  come  and  call  on  General  Nofid. 
So  next  day  my  4nd  came  in  again,  bringing  pre- 
sents  of  chickens  and  champagne,  and  arranged  an 
interview  for  January  5th.  On  that  date  the  generals 
met  and  shook  hands. 

General  Nogi  said,  "  We  have  been  fighting  for  our 
countries,  and  have  had  to  do  so  as  courageously  as 


314  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

possible.  But  now  it  is  peace  here,  and  there  is  no 
reason  we  should  not  meet  for  the  time  being  as  good 
friends  and  soldier  comrades."  Greneral  Stoessel  made 
answer,  *'  Tes ;  with  the  cessation  of  hostilities  feel- 
ings of  anger  die,  and  the  mind  is  well  prepared  to 
cherish  more  friendly  feelings." 

The  generals  then  discussed  the  incidents  of  the 
fighting,  when  each  was  complimentary  to  the  soldiers 
of  the  other. 

General  Stoessel  observed  that  the  11 -inch  howitzers 
were  the  most  unpleasant  feature  of  the  siege. 
Messengers  of  such  weight,  so  imperiously  demand* 
ing  possession,  had  never  before  been  sent  into  a 
fortress. 

After  a  little  more  talk  about  the  wounded,  General 
Stoessel  said,  *^  I  have  two  horses,  an  Australian  and 
an  Arab.  They  are  both  beauties,  and  I  want  you  to 
accept  them  as  a  free,  willing  gift." 

General  Nogi  replied,  "  No  ;  I  am  extremely  sorry, 
but  under  the  orders  of  the  Eknperor  everjrthing  in 
the  fortress  has  to  be  handed  in  without  exception  or 
distinction  to  the  Commissioners  for  captured  articles  ; 
I  promise,  however,  that  I  will  endeavour  to  get  these 
horses  back  from  the  Commissioners,  and  if  I  can 
succeed  I  will  keep  them  always  in  remembrance  of  a 
brave  adversary." 

General  Stoessel  expressed  his  deep  regret  at  the 
sad  bereavement  the  Japanese  commander  had  suffered 
by  losing  his  two  sons  during  the  siege  operations. 

General  Nogi  thanked  him  for  his  sympathy,  but 
declared  that  it  was  cause  for  self-congratulation  and 
not  for  sorrow  to  a  Japanese  soldier  if  fate  decreed 
that  his  family  should  cease  to  exist  in  such  a  cause 
and  in  such  a  manner.      The  life  of  a  soldier^— his 


The  Devil's  Ploughing  315 

family — all  belonged  to  his  country,  and  if  they  all 
went  why  then  they  were  well  gone. 

Finally  the  Russian  commander  got  on  his  Arab 
and  made  him  trot  up  and  down  to  show  off  its 
beautiful  paces. 

Breakfast  was  then  served,  after  which  Stoessel 
took  his  leave. 

A  mile  or  two  before  entering  the  town  of  Port 
Arthur  we  met  some  carts  conveying  ladies.  I 
took  them  to  be  Russian  refugees..  My  pleasure  at 
seeing  the  first  white  women  who  have  gladdened  our 
sight  since  the  far-off  days  of  Fenghuangcheng  was 
tempered  by  the  melancholy  thought  of  their  little 
homes  broken  up  and  their  husbands  or  children  lost 
during  the  terrors  of  siege.  I  felt  sorry  for  them, 
and  I  suppose  I  looked  it,  too,  for  I  was  suddenly 
electrified  by  one  of  them  singing  out  in  good  honest 
American  accents,  "  Waal,  and  how  are  you  fellows, 
any  way  ?  "     Evidently  I  had  made  a  mistake. 

Going  on  a  little  further  we  met  a  number  of 
genuine  Russian  refugees  with  all  their  worldly 
possessions,  including  their  women  and  children,  in 
Chinese  carts.  The  men  all  saluted  the  French 
attach^,  and  some  of  them  also  saluted  the  Biitish. 
Shortly  after  meeting  these  pilgrims  we  rode  right 
into  the  town  and  tied  up  our  horses  on  the  wharf. 

My  impression  in  passing  along  the  deserted  boule- 
vard was  melancholy,  all  the  shops  being  closed  %nd 
about  one  house  in  thirty  having  been  wrecked  by 
shells.  On  the  wharf  I  met  a  couple  of  Sikhs,  who 
were  considerably  surprised  to  be  accosted  in  Hindus- 
tani. They  told  me  the  place  had  been  given  up 
quietly,  and  that  the  Japanese  hand  o  bast  ^  was  good. 

Iminifltration. 


316  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

If,  they  said,  the  Japanese  had  not  been  adroit  in 
changing  sentries  with  the  Russians  so  neatly  and  so 
quickly  there  would  certainly  have  been  pillage.  It 
was  their  business  to  know  such  things,  as  they  \^ere 
watchmen  in  the  employ  of  a  Grerman  firm.  The 
natural  good  manners  of  these  men  had  been  spoilt. 
They  spoke  with  a  disagreeable  mixture  of  cringing 
and  effrontery.  I  thought  them  degenerate  fellows, 
very  much  changed  for  the  worse  since  their  departure 
from  the  Punjauh. 

If  the  town  seemed  melancholy  it  was  gay  compared 
to  the  harbour.  For  in  the  streets  were  at  least  some 
lingering  signs  of  life.  The  shops  might  be  closed,  but 
there  were  Bussian  Bed  Cross  men  riding  about  with 
Cossack  orderlies  and  Japanese  officers  driving  about 
in  Russian  doikas.  But  in  the  harbour  there  was 
nothing  but  the  grey  water  and  the  scuttled  warships ; 
piteous  dead  things  lying  on  their  beam  ends  or  sunken 
on  even  keel  until  the  little  waves  were  able  to  chase 
one  another  over  the  decks.  No  other  inanimate  thing 
gives  such  an  impression  of  life  as  a  great  ship  when 
all  is  well  with  her.  Hardly  anything  in  this  world 
looks  so  forlorn,  lonesome  and  desolate  as  the  same 
ship  stranded,  ruined  and  wrecked. 

On  the  wharf  was  a  stack  of  Cardiff  coal.  I  stood  on 
it  a  moment  just  to  give  myself  the  nearest  sensation 
possible  to  **  the  sweet  green  fields  of  Wales."  Then 
we  climbed  up  Golden  Hill,  where  few  but  Bussians 
had  ever  climbed  before  and  where  few  but  Japanese 
will  ever  climb  in  future.  For  this  very  reason  I  had 
better  not  write  about  it.  The  harbour  entrance 
struck  me  as  being  extraordinarily  narrow.  The 
channel  was  such  that  I  doubt  if,  under  peace  con- 
ditions, two  ships  could  safely  have  passed  one  another. 


I 
I 

a 

a 

i 
I 


The  Dbvil's  Ploughing  317 

All  the  more  admirable  then  was  the  pluck  of  the 
sailors  who  brought  their  steamers  up  and  sank  them 
right  under  the  very  muzzle  of  the  Bussian  right  flank 
ten-inch  gun. 

After  leaving  Golden  HiU  fort  we  went  to  the 
principal  hospital  and  called  on  General  Balaschieff, 
Director  of  the  Bed  Gi'oss.  He  was  a  picturesque  old 
gentleman,  who  spoke  French  most  fluently  and 
volubly.  He  reminded  me  exactly  of  the  father  of 
Natascha,  I  forget  his  name,  in  War  and  Peace.  The 
heat  in  this  hospital  was  awful ;  70'' !  I  suppose  the 
Russians  like  it  so,  but  the  nurses,  as  well  as  the 
patients,  looked  pathetically  ill  and  pale,  especially  in 
contrast  with  our  bronzed  and  stalwart  crowd. 

On  return  to  camp  at  4.30  p.m.  I  got  an  invitation 
to  come  and  say  good-bye  to  General  Nogi,  as,  although 
he  is  going  to  sit  next  me  at  dinner,  he  thinks  I  might 
wish  to  have  some  more  private  conversation  before  I 
leave. 

The  more  I  see  of  the  Commander  of  the  Third  Army 
the  more  he  impresses  me.  He  is,  I  feel  sure,  a  man  of 
great  nobility  of  character,  endowed  with  a  philosophic 
heroism  which  penetrates  through  the  mild  dignity  of 
his  manners  and  appearance.  He  seems  utterly  simple 
and  unspoiled  by  success.  Although  the  date  of  his 
birth  places  him  amongst  the  warriors  of  the  old  school, 
yet  he  has  never  spared  time  or  labour  in  his  efforts  to 
keep  himself  abreast  of  the  times.  He  has  read  a  very 
large  proportion  of  modem  standard  military  works. 
If  I  were  a  Japanese,  I  would  venerate  Nogi.  Happy 
is  the  army  which  possesses  such  a  general,  and  fortu- 
nate the  nation.  Indeed,  I  would  go  i^rther  and  say 
well  constituted  must  be  the  army  and  ably  governed 
the  nation  which,  possessing  such  a  man,  puts  him 


318  A  Staff  Qffigsb's  Sgrap-Book 

exactly  in  the  right  place.  What  is  the  Power  and 
where  does  it  reside  hy  which,  apparently  without 
favour  or  affection,  the  very  best  use  is  made  of 
available  Japanese  material  ?  Who  are  on  the  Selection 
Board  which  fits  in  each  Japanese  official  just  exactly 
where,  without  being  taxed  beyond  his  powers,  he  can 
develop  his  ftdlest  force  ? 

I  do  not  know,  but  I  feel  that  we  British  take 
these  matters  of  appointments  (I  am  not  speaking 
specially  of  the  Army)  far  too  lightly,  because  we  have 
a  sort  of  feeling  lying  at  the  bottom  of  our  minds  that, 
after  all,  one  Englishman  is  about  as  good  as  another. 

This  is  a  frightful  feJlacy.  A  man  may  be  selected 
for  an  important  post  in  January;  in  February  he 
may  have  an  attack  of  illness ;  and  in  March, 
although  no  one,  not  even  himself,  is  aware  of  the 
fact,  he  may  not  be  the  man  he  was.  Thus,  even  in 
an  individual,  there  is  scope  for  a  great  variation  of 
capacity.  Napoleon  in  good  health  spells  victoiy; 
Napoleon  with  a  cold  in  his  head  is  nothing  more  than 
a  conmionplace  commander.  But  such  differences  in 
an  individual,  important  as  they  may  be,  are  nothing 
compared  to  the  differences  between  two  different  in- 
dividuals. It  is  a  marvellous  thing  that  out  of  all  the 
millions  of  men  in  this  world,  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
pick  out  two  of  whom  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  they 
would  act  in  precisely  the  same  way  under  the  strain 
of  a  similar  crisis.  Every  inhabitant  of  Great  Britain 
has,  somewhere,  his  precise  sphere  of  action  lying  ready 
for  him.  We  consider  it  almost  a  miracle  when  the 
two  are  brought  together.  The  biographies  of  most 
great  men  show  that  they  only  come  into  their 
kingdom,  so  to  say,  by  the  skin  of  their  teeth,  and 
after  persistent  attempts  had  been  noade  to  fotce  them 


^^-1 


HARBOVII  CNTflANCI 
COLOCN  NILL 

REMAINS 
OPTH€    I 
iSIAN    FLCST 


F  Port  Arthur  Hari 


Thb  Devil's  Ploughing  319 

into  some  thoroughly  uncoDgenial  career.  But  the 
eye  of  the  Japanese  Government  seems  to  serve  it 
marvellously  well  in  the  selection  of  its  instruments. 

During  my  hrief  interview  with  the  Commander  of 
the  Third  Army,  I  asked  if  he  would  come  and  see  me 
in  England  if  I  got  the  command  of  an  army  corps. 
He  said  that  travel  was  for  young  men  who  wanted  to 
learn,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  their  experiences  at 
the  disposal  of  their  native  land  He  himself  was  now 
too  old  to  pick  up  new  notions  which  demand  fresh 
and  flexible  minda  If,  therefore,  it  was  fated  that  he 
should  get  through  this  war  alive  he  meant  to  settle 
down  quietly  to  spend  his  declining  years  in  his  own 
country. 


CHAPTER  XXXVn 

NANSHAN  AND  TELISSU 

KiNCHOU,  JanuaoTf  2Uh,  1905,  11  p.m. — A  fierce 
blizzard  from  the  north  has  been  blowing  for  the  past 
twenty-four  hours.  Last  night,  after  saying  good-bye 
to  the  Third  Army  headquarters,  I  had  just  time  to  get 
into  bed  with  all  my  clothes  on  when  it  began  in  deadly 
earnest,  whistling  through  my  matting- walled  house  as 
if  it  had  been  a  sieve.  I  wore  a  nightcap  for  the  first 
time  in  my  life,  but  even  that  did  not  keep  my  feet 
warm,  and  I  could  not  sleep. 

I  rose  at  6  A.M.,  as  under  the  orders  issued  we  w^*e 
to  start  at  9,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  did  not  get  off 
until  1  P.M.  The  wing  of  chicken  I  got  for  breakfSBist 
was  fix)zen  as  hard  as  a  brick-bat.  I  chipped  off  splinters 
with  my  clasp-knife  and  held  them  in  my  mouth  until 
they  melted. 

After  travelling  a  few  miles  up  the  line  we  halted 
for  an  hour,  taking  in  Russian  prisoners  for  Dalny. 
They  were  fine-looking  men,  many  of  them  over  six  feet. 
Our  third-class  carriage  tempered  to  some  extent  the 
fury  of  the  blizzard,  but  in  the  open  trucks  it  must 
have  been  haxd  to  draw  breath.  One  unfortunate 
man  crawled  in  when  Vincent  opened  the  door  and 
seemed  on  the  point  of  death.  He  spoke  ''  A  &ts*o7 
Deutschy  We  gave  him  brandy,  which  seemed  to 
revive  him  somewhat. 


Nanshan  and  Telissu  321 

Eventually  we  arrived  at  our  destination,  Kinchou 
station,  at  6.30  p.m.  Here  we  met  with  a  singular 
adventure  which  will  amuse  the  Japanese  Army  very 
much  when  it  comes  to  their  ears.  Hardly  had  I 
alighted  from  the  train  when  fizz  I  pop  !  I  bang ! ! ! 
about  500  Roman  candles  were  let  oflFup  wind,  fiercely 
discharging  their  fiery  contents  upon  the  ice-laden 
wings  of  the  blizzard.  I  stood  the  unexpected  assault 
bravely,  until  catherine-wheels  and  fountains  of  fire 
began  to  sweep  the  platform  like  shrapnel,  and  then, 
with  two  or  three  half-exploded  squibs  sticking  to  my 
coat  I  fled  into  a  small  waiting-room,  not,  however, 
before  I  had  observed  an  amazing  crowd  of  Chinese 
notables  standing  closely  to  windward  of  the  fire- 
works. 

As  soon  as  the  fury  of  the  salute  had  abated  I 
wanted  to  go  out  and  thank  the  kind  Chinamen  for 
the  warm  reception  they  had  given  us,  but  the  Japanese 
officers  in  charge  dissuaded  me.  However,  after  about 
five  minutes'  delay,  they  brought  the  chief  mandarins 
into  the  waiting-room  and  presented  them  to  me  there. 

It  was  so  dark  that  I  could  hardly  see,  and  I 
suggested  we  should  either  have  a  lamp  or  that  I 
should  speak  to  the  Chinese  on  the  platform  where 
there  was  still  a  little  light.  But  nothing  was  done  ; 
it  was  not  my  business  to  make  a  fuss,  and  so  the 
introductions  and  compliments  took  place  practically 
in  the  dark. 

When  all  the  Chinese  had  departed,  then,  and  not 
till  then,  I  was  permitted  to  start  for  the  house  which 
had  been  told  off  for  me,  rubbing  my  nose  in  real 
agony  tx)  try  and  save  it  from  being  bitten  off  by  the 
atrocious  wind.  Only  on  arrival  here  did  a  friendly 
subordinate  let  the  humour  of  the  proceedings  over- 
come his  Japanese  reticence.     He  began  by  asking 

II  X 


A  Stavf  Qfpigse's  Sgbap-Book 

m  if  we  knew  what  was  inacribed  on  the  banners 
brought  down  to  the  station  by  the  Chinese.  Naturally 
we  did  not  know,  and  he  then  toUL  ns  with  a  twinkle 
in  his  eye  that  they  bore  the  strange  device  of  '*  All 
hail,  mighty  conqueror,  on  thy  great  victory ! "  Having 
said  so  much  he  could  not  stop,  and  bit  by  bit  we  got 
hold  of  the  whole  story. 

We  had  been  due  here  at  2  p.il,  and  General  Nogi, 
who  was  to  have  started  with  his  Headquarters  Staff 
for  Liaoyang  at  1  p.il,  was  due  at  6  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  Our  train  was  five  hours  late  of  starting, 
which  put  back  the  departure  of  the  Commander  of 
the  Third  Army  a  proportionate  time,  and  he  will  not 
now  pass  through  Eanchou  until  midnight.  But  no 
one  had  warned  the  local  Chinese  mandarins  of  the 
change  of  programme,  and  they  had  all  come  down  to 
give  Nogi  a  grand  reception.  Before  any  one  could 
stop  them  they  had  opened  fire  with  their  Roman 
candles,  and  the  situation  was  decidedly  awkward  fi>r 
the  responsible  officers  and  officials. 

But  the  clever  Japanese  are  equal  to  any  emer- 
gency, and  when  they  saw  me  dart  across  into  the 
dark  waiting-room  the  brilliant  idea  struck  them  of 
making  the  Chinese  quite  happy  by  letting  them 
imagine  they  had  seen  Nogi  and  of  making  me  even 
happier  in  the  belief  that  I  had  been  given  a  royal 
salute.  So  they  made  me  unconsciously  personate 
Nogi  in  the  dark  room,  and  killed  their  birds  with  the 
one  cleverly  flung  stone  ! 

This  room  is  so  deadly  cold  it  might  be  an  apartment 
excavated  out  of  the  heart  of  a  glacier. 

I  hear  some  one  hard  by  grumbling,  "  Wir  sind  hter 
eingegrahen ;  es  ist  schtveirUich  kalt?^ 

Again  I  shall  get  between  the  blankets  with  all  my 
clothes  on,  plus  a  nightcap. 


Nanshan  and  Teussu  323 

I  am  writing  in  pencil,  because  my  ink  is  frozen 
quite  solid 

KiNCHOU,  JanuoAry  25th,  1905. — The  wind  is  still 
in  the  north,  but  not  nearly  so  piercing  or  so  strong ; 
thank  Heaven  I 

In  the  afternoon  we  were  shown  over  the  battlefield 
of  Nanshan  by  an  officer  of  Kobi  who  had  been  badly 
wounded  during  the  engagement.  The  Nanshan 
position  consists  of  a  group  of  bare  hiUs  about  300 
feet  high,  blocking  the  narrowest  point  of  the  Liaotung 
isthmus,  which  is  here  pinched  in  to  a  width  of  some 
three  miles  from  eastern  to  western  sea.  (^ee  Sketches 
XXXVIII.  and  XXXIX.) 

The  battlefield  is  as  restricted  as  that  of  Waterloo, 
and  lies  before  a  spectator  on  the  commanding  Russian 
position  in  all  its  minutest  detail.  Some  men  are  glad 
of  an  opportimity  of  dissociating  themselves  from 
public  opinion — ^personally  I  much  prefer  to  sail  with 
the  tide.  But  occasionally  there  is  no  help  for  it ; 
it  becomes  absolutely  necessary  to  combat  a  dangerous 
delusion. 

Nanshan  has  been  called  a  strong  position — the 
strongest  in  the  world,  I  think,  certain  writers  have 
allowed  themselves  to  declare. 

In  the  time  of  Csssar,  or  even  Wellington,  this 
might  have  been  so,  provided  always  the  defender 
had  command  of  the  sea. 

But  no  Roman  general  I  am  sure  in  the  first  Punic 
War,  when  the  Carthaginians  were  superior  on  sea, 
would  have  elected  to  fight  a  battle  with  both  his 
wings  resting  on  that  fickle  element,  thus  giving  his 
enemies  a  double  chance  of  asserting  their  special 
advantage.  I  say  then  that  Nanshan  should  never 
under  any  conditions  have  been  considered  a  strong 
position  unless  the  defenders  hOid  command  of  the  sea 


324  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

on  both  sides,  when,  with  modem  ordnance  such  as 
it  is,  no  land  defence  whatsoever  would  have  been 
required. 

Bat  this  is  not  alL  Even  if  the  element  of  sea 
power  be  eliminated  from  the  problem,  I  do  not  think 
the  writers  who  have  enlai^ed  upon  the  strength  and 
value  of  such  a  position  as  Nanshan  have  quite  grasped 
the  evolution  in  tactics  caused  by  the  long-range  rifle 
and  gun. 

The  Nanshan  hills  are,  as  already  stated,  at  the 
narrowest  waist  of  the  isthmus.  Immediately  to  the 
north  and  to  the  south  of  the  position  taken  up  by  the 
Russians  the  sea  runs  back,  permitting  the  land  to 
bulge  out  in  strong  curves  to  the  east  and  to  the  west 
{see  Sketch  XXXIX,),  Thus  an  enemy  approaching 
the  position  from  the  north  can  get  within  1000 
yards  of  it  with  a  front  twice  as  long  as  that  of  the 
defenders.  In  the  days  of  Waterloo  this  would  not 
so  much  have  mattered,  except  that  the  artilleiy  of 
the  attack  could  have  brought  a  converging  fire  on  the 
hilL  But,  before  the  infantry  could  have  made  use  of 
their  musketry,  they  must  have  entered  the  narrow 
neck  and  restricted  their  front  to  almost  the  same 
extent  as  that  of  the  defenders.  In  the  year  of  grace 
1904,  however,  the  infantry  fire  fight  becomes  hot  at 
1000  yards,  and  at  this  distance,  owing  to  the  con- 
figuration of  land  and  sea,  the  Japanese  were  able  to 
bring  a  great  superiority  of  rifle-fire,  half  of  it  con- 
verging, on  the  hills  in  the  narrow  isthmus  occupied 
by  the  Russians. 

In  my  opinion  then  the  defenders  misinterpreted 
the  exceptional  geographical  advantages  ofiered  by 
the  Nanshan  Isthmus.  Instead  of  placing  themselves 
so  that  they  must  be  exposed  to  a  converging  fire, 
they  should  have  used  the  ground  to  make  certain  of 


II- 


5  i^ 


Nanshan  and  Telibsu  825 

being  able  to  bring  a  converging  fire  on  the  Japanese. 
The  country  to  the  south  of  the  isthmus  lends  itself 
admirably  to  such  a  scheme.  The  Russian  right  wing 
might  have  covered  Dalny  and  the  d&)(mch6  of  Nanshan 
80  as  to  catch  the  Japanese  with  converging  fire  as 
they  emerged,  without  exposing  themselves  to  naval 
attack  on  the  western,  or  dangerous  side  of  the  sea. 
Their  left  wing  thrown  back  in  echelon  on  the  higher 
hills  in  rear  would  have  prevented  any  attempt  of  the 
enemy  to  turn  their  left  by  hugging  the  western  coast 
line. 

In  short,  Nanshan  was  an  admirable  position  for  the 
erection  of  a  permanent  work  which  would  have  been 
as  resistant  to  fire  on  the  flanks  and  in  rear  as  to  any 
premature  assault  in  fix>nt.  A  few  thousand  pounds 
spent  on  such  a  fort  would  have  enabled  two  or  three 
battalions  of  infitntry  and  a  company  or  two  of  garrison 
gunners  to  hold  the  Japanese  Army  at  bay  for  some 
days  at  least,  perhaps  indeed  for  weeks.  But  Nanshan 
was  not  a  place  for  a  battle  of  defence,  where  trenches 
and  gun  emplacements  of  a  simple  field  type  could  all 
be  easily  enfiladed  or  even  taken  in  reverse  by  men-of- 
war  from  the  sea  on  either  side.  A  mile  or  two  to  the 
south  Nature  had  plainly  designated  the  true  position 
for  such  a  battle  of  defence  ;  so  at  least  it  seems  to  me, 
though  the  Russians  were  evidently  not  of  my  way  of 
thinking. 

I  shall  not  enter  into  a  description  of  the  engage- 
ment,  except  to  say  that  I  was  surprised  to  find 
that  the  Russians  had  placed  their  15-centimetre 
howitzers  on  the  top  of  the  hills,  although  only  300 
yards  further  south  there  was  a  deep  ravine  with  steep 
sides,  whence  they  could  have  fired  with  equal  effect, 
and  also  with  perfect  safety.  Howitzers  are  meant 
for  indirect  fire,  and  to  expose  these  high  angle  pieces 


326  A  Staff  Officer*b  Scbap-Book 

to  the  enemy's  cannon  was  a  purposeless  surrender  of 
one  of  their  chief  merits.  As  well  might  a  chess  player 
handicap  himself  by  refusing  to  jump  his  knight  oyer 
the  other  pieces,  as  an  artillery  commander  decide 
that  instead  of  throwing  his  shell  over  a  hill  from  safe 
concealment  behind  it,  he  would  take  his  howitzers 
into  full  view  of  all  the  enemy's  artillery  both  on  sea 
and  land.  A  howitzer  is  naturally  a  modest  piece 
and  never  would  the  quality  have  shown  to  more 
advantage  than  at  Nanshan  where  the  Japanese  could 
bring  198  field-guns,  as  well  as  the  armament  of 
four  gunboats,  to  bear  upon  the  fifby  guns  of  the 
Russians. 

I  noticed  an  important  advance  on  the  Yalu  defences. 
The  first  line  of  trenches,  which  followed  the  curve  of 
the  hills  about  twenty-five  feet  above  their  base,  was 
completed  with  sandbag  loopholes.  Also  there  were 
barbed  wire  obstacles,  which  are  specially  effective 
against  swift-running  Japanese.  It  was  owing  to  the 
loopholes  and  the  barbed  wire  that  10,000  Bussians 
resisted  the  Third  Army  of  42,000  and  the  1st  Artillery 
Brigade  until  sunset,  although  their  artillery  had  bees 
completely  silenced  (owing  to  the  mistake  in  pladng 
the  howitzers)  by  9  A.M. 

I  must  now  act  up  to  my  principles  and  tear  myself 
away  from  too  serious  a  consideration  of  a  fascinating 
example  of  naval  and  military  combination  on  the 
battlefield.  Although  Nanshan  must  have  had  a  bad 
moral  effect  on  the  troops  who  had  to  fall  back,  yet  it 
is  probable  that,  in  the  long  run,  the  victory  was 
dearly  bought  by  the  Japanese.  They  won  the  posi- 
tion too  cheaply  at  a  cost  of  4504  killed  and  wounded, 
or  only  about  LO  per  cent,  of  their  force.  They  did  not 
quite  grasp  the  inherent  weakness  of  a  concentrated 
force  on  the  Nanshan  hills  when  attacked  by  modern 


■m^- 
i%"" 


^^^z^; 


~ii^.. 


'^.JT 


^ANSHAN  AND  TeUSSU  327 

armaments.  Elated  at  having  carried  by  assault  a 
position  which  bore  some  superficial  resemblance  to  a 
citadel,  thej  began  to  imagine  there  were  no  limits  to 
what  their  prowess  could  accomplish,  and  it  was  in 
this  spirit  that  a  few  weeks  later  they  hurled  masses 
of  valorous  flesh  and  blood  against  the  inflexible 
masonry  of  permanent  fortifications,  there  to  gain  the 
austere  glory  of  dying  in  thousands — ^not  for  victory, 
for  that  was  impossible,  but  for  the  honour  of  the  Axmy 
and  for  the  renown  of  their  country  and  its  Emperor. 

Teussu,  January  26«A,  1905. — A.  day  of  horror. 
Started  at  7  a.m.  in  an  icy  blizzard,  but  for  some  un- 
known cause  the  train  which  was  to  have  taken  us 
north  at  9  A.1C  left  us  stranded  on  the  station,  where 
we  remained  kicking  our  heels  to  try  and  keep  them 
warm  for  six  or  seven  hours.  The  thermometer  was 
just  below  zero  all  the  tima 

At  5  P.M.  a  Dubs  engine  from  Glasgow  came  and 
carried  us  to  a  place  named  Gebato,  where  we  were 
preparing  some  hot  cofiise  at  9  P.M.  when  suddenly 
there  was  a  terrific  smash ;  the  windows  flew  into 
splinters,  and  all  became  dark,  except  a  few  sparks 
either  from  the  lamps  or  perhaps  produced  in  my  eyes 
by  the  concussiotL  I  got  a  heavy  blow  in  the  ribs 
from  something  and  a  smash  on  the  arm,  which  was,  I 
thought  for  a  moment,  broken.  This  is  my  first  rail- 
way accident.  Our  good  honest  Glasgy  locomotive  had 
been  run  into  by  a  pert  fussy  American  shunting 
engine.  The  servants  were  terribly  upset.  They 
thought  a  Russian  cannon  shot  had  struck  the  train. 
One  said,  '*  Are  we  dead  ?  "  The  cook  exclaimed,  *'  I 
have  lost  my  eye  1 "  Susaki  bawled  out,  **  We  must 
fly  I "  Matsuda  said,  ''  Sit  still ;  a  Russian  mine  has 
blown  the  locomotive  to  pieces,  and  perhaps  there  is 
another  under  us ! '' 


328  A  Staff  Officer's  Sgrap-Book 

However,  no  one  was  seriously  injured,  although 
most  of  us  have  a  scratch  or  two  to  show  as  the  result 
of  our  adventure.  Naturally  our  journey  was  delayed 
still  further,  and  we  did  not  get  here  (Telissu)  until 
2.30  A.M.  I  am  now  in  a  small  Russian  house  near  the 
station,  and  its  warm  stove  and  the  howl  of  Japanese 
soup  and  rice  which  I  have  just  gohbled  up  seern^  and 
therefore  are,  the  acme  of  luxury. 

Socialists,  and  many  good  and  comfortable  people 
who  are  not  socialists,  imagine  that  the  world  -would 
be  happier  if  every  one  was  assured  of  a  good  dinner 
every  day  of  his  or  her  life.  No  greater  mistake.  Three 
things  make  this  world  worth  living  in.  Food,  love  and 
heaven. 

Deprive  mankind  of  the  natural  uncertainty  as  to 
where  they  are  to  get  their  next  meal  and  they  lose, 
at  one  blow,  a  third  of  their  interest  in  life.  England 
is  such  an  absurdly  safe,  luxurious  sort  of  an  artificial 
pa^dise.  «.d  so  l.y  of  it.  f^fU  go  ftom  the  cr«a, 
to  the  grave  without  once  having  been  even  twenty- 
four  hours  without  food  or  drink>  that  some  folk  may 
think  that  my  platitude  is  a  paradox.  If  so  let  them 
consider  further. 

Love,  they  must  admit,  is  the  factor  which  looms 
most  largely  in  a  food-satisfied  life.  Now,  just  suppose 
that  the  course  of  love — ^true  or  false— always  ran 
perfectly  smooth,  what  then  would  happen  to  love  as 
we  now  understand  it  ?  It  would  disappear,  and  with 
it  the  second  third  of  the  interest  of  life. 

One  more  tie,  and  one  only,  would  then  attach 
hiunanity  to  this  terrestrial  globe,  namely,  the  uncer- 
tainty about  heaven.  Lest  perchance  the  world  was 
to  be  the  end  of  all  things  a  man  might  linger  on  just 
to  see  it  through,  even  if  he  had  neither  sustenance  nor 
love  to  work  for  and  live  for.    But  let  him  be  positively 


Nanshan  and  Teussit  329 

assured,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  compel  belief,  that  he 
ivas  lingering  joylessly  on  the  threshold  of  Paradise, 
and  then  who  could  prevent  him  from  hastening  to  it  by 
committing  the  happy  despatch  ? 

Often  when  I  have  heard  a  kind-hearted  person  say, 
with  tears  in  their  voices,  of  a  tramp  or  a  gipsy,  *'  I 
believe  the  poor  fellow  is  really  hungry  1 "  I  have 
thought  to  myself,  "  Poor  unhappy  man  or  woman,  you 
have  now  lived  the  best  part  of  your  life  without  ever 
once  having  been  half  or  three-quarters  starved.  Ergo^ 
you  know  nothing  whatever  of  one  of  the  chief  pleasures 
of  life,  the  pleasure  namely  of  satisfjring,  not  mere  appe- 
tite,  but  genuine  hunger." 

I  suppose  these  thoughts  are  the  result  of  the 
railway  accident.  I  must  now  try  to  quench  such 
unwholesome  mental  activity  in  gentle  slimiber  by  the 
side  of  this  delicious  Russian  stove. 

Tklissu,  Janua/ry  27th,  1905. — Slept  the  sleep  oi 
the  just  till  9.30  A.M.  Had  some  breakfast  and  went 
out  to  see  the  battlefield.  Nakamura  recommended 
me  a  splendid  looking  mule.  Its  owner  said  it  was 
just  about  perfect.  It  seemed  very  tractable  and  tame. 
Quite  a  nice,  confidential  beast. 

We  started.  When  we  had  gone  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  Booski  came  rather  close  and  frightened  the  mule. 
Booski  loves  to  firighten  anything,  and  is  very  quick  to 
detect  when  she  has  made  an  impression  of  this  sort, 
especially  upon  a  large  thing  like  a  mule.  The  more 
the  mule  drew  away  from  Booski,  the  closer  Booski 
came  to  the  mule.  I  cursed  Booski  fi*ightfully,  but 
she  is  just  like  a  Boer ;  when  the  enemy  yields  she 
presses  her  advantage.  I  was  rapidly  losing  control 
over  the  mule — I  lost  control — we  flew  towards  the 
railway  embankment,  an  obstacle  like  the  Punchestown 
"  on  and  off,"  only  more  so.    An  instinct  of  the  hunting- 


ddO  A  Staff  Offigbb's  Sgrap-Book 

field  made  me  give  the  mule  its  head  and  It  flew  right 
over  like  a  bird.  But  still  we  were  pursued  by  the 
inexorable  Booski  now  almost  beside  herself  with  joy. 

We  crossed  a  firozen  pond.  Lord  knows  how,  but  I 
must  say  for  a  mule  that,  if  it  takes  you  into  a  bad 
place,  it  is  dever  at  taking  you  out  again.  Twice 
we  circled  round  the  pond  and  then  we  went  full  gallop 
again  for  that  accursed  embankment. 

This  time  we  galloped  top  speed  fiill  in  the  teeth  of 
the  blizzard,  and  I  can't  much  tell  what  happened 
The  last  thing  I  can  recall  (before  finding  myself  up  to 
my  neck  in  a  snowdrift)  is  a  sensation  of  sazin^  down 
with  mUd  surprise,  as  if  from  a  great  height,  on  my 
own  empty  saddle,  which  seemed  to  be  poised  for  that 
instant  on  the  very  head  of  the  diabolical  mule.  So 
occupied  was  the  rest  of  the  party  in  fighting  the 
roaring,  ice-laden  wind,  that  my  adventures  passed 
quite  unseen  by  every  one.  Thus  my  dignity  remains 
unimpaired  although  I  have  a  bump  on  the  back  of 
my  head  to  give  me  good  assurance  that  I  have  not 
been  dreaming. 

Before  describing  the  Russian  position  and  giving 
my  own  ideas  about  it,  I  feel  I  must,  however  briefly, 
state  the  conditions  leading  up  to  the  battle. 

After  the  Fourth  Army,  consisting  then  of  only  the 
Tenth  Division,  had  landed  at  Takushan,  it  was  rein- 
forced by  a  brigade  of  Guards  from  our  First  Army, 
with  whose  help  it  captured  Siuyen.  The  Fourth 
Army  now  formed  a  link  between  the  First  Army  at 
Fenghuangcheng  and  the  Second  Army  at  Elindboii, 
which,  until  then,  had  been  separated  by  a  mountainous 
stretch  of  160  miles  of  country.  A  general  advance 
northwards  had  become  strategically  practicable. 

Before,  however,  this  converging  movement  on 
Liaoyang  could  actually  commence,  many  difficulties 


Nanshan  and  Telissx;  331 

of  transport  and  supply  had  to  be  solved.     Great,  then, 

ivas  the  joy  of  the  Japanese  when  a  cavalry  action,* 

fought  on  May  30th,  some  four  miles  south  of  Telissu 

(see  Map  XL.),  showed  that  their  problem  was  about  to 

be  simplified  by  the  Russians,  who  were  themselves 

advancing  southwards  towards  Port  Arthur.     Stakel- 

berg  from  the  north  and  Oku  from  the  south  each  now 

pressed  along  the  railway,  the  former  hoping  to  draw 

off  some  Japanese  from  the  siege,  the  latter  determined 

to  bring  off  more  than  the  Russians  had  bargained  for. 

Oku's  force  consisted  of  the  Third  and  Fifth  Divisions, 

with  an  independent  artillery  brigade ;  also  of  a  part 

of  the  Fourth  Division,  moving  well  to  the  west  by  the 

Fudbou  road ;  total,  including  the  cavalry,  30,000  rifles, 

1800  sabres,  and  162  guns.     The  Sixth  Division  was 

also  expected  to  effect  a  landing  in  time  to  take  part 

in  the  battle,  but,  actually,  only  one  single  battalion 

arrived  on  the  ground  before  the  last  shots  had  been 

fired.     Against  this  force  Stakelberg  had  some  28,000 

men  and  90  guns,  mostly  belonging  to  his  own  corps, 

the  Ist  Siberians,  which  did  such  splendid  work  in  all 

the  succeeding  battles. 

About  noon,  on  June  14th,  the  Third  Japanese  Divi- 
sion, moving  east  of  the  railway,  came  into  contact  with 
the  two  Russian  advance-guards  sent  out  respectively 
from  Stakelberg's  right  and  left  wings.  The  right 
advance-guard  was  encountered  in  the  valley  south  of 

*  The  affair  was  sharply  contested,  and  is  memorable  as  having 
furnished  the  only  example  of  a  cavalry  charge  which  has  taken 
place  in  Manchuria.  Two  sotnias  of  Oossacks  came  suddenly  upon 
a  Japanese  squadron,  and  as  they  could  not  get  up  enough  pace  in 
the  short  distance  to  make  their  lances  effective,  they  used  these 
weapons  as  quarter-staves,  striking  the  Japanese  with  them  over 
their  heads  and  across  their  bridle-arms.  The  Japanese  squadron 
was  defeated,  but  the  general  results  of  the  engagement  were 
indecisive. 


332  A  Staff  Offigbb's  SeRAP-BooK 

Tafangshen,  and  consisted  of  eleven  squadrons,  eight 
guns,  and  a  company  of  mounted  infantry.  The  left 
advance-guard  was  met  close  by  Gabuoho,  and  con- 
sisted of  one  squadron,  six  battalions  of  infantry,  and 
eight  guns.  The  Third  Division  drove  both  of  these 
back,  but  the  left  advance-guard  made  a  stout  resist- 
ance and  did  not  retire  very  far.  The  artillery  on  both 
sides  then  became  heavily  engaged. 

Now  is  the  time  to  describe  the  position  {see 
Map  XL.).  From  Telissu  we  followed  the  railway 
down  south,  both  the  line  itself  and  the  main 
road  beside  it,  running  through  a  flat  valley,  very 
narrow  at  first  but  gradually  opening  out  as  we  pro- 
ceeded. The  country  on  either  side  was  exceedingly 
rough  and  mountainous.  Just  as  much  so  in  fact  as 
the  Motienling  district,  although  the  altitudes  of  the 
principal  mountains  were  not  quite  so  great. 

When  we  reached  a  point  about  two  miles  south  of 
Telissu  the  road  and  railway  skirted  the  lower  slopes  of 
a  long,  rounded,  grassy  spur  which  came  jutting  out 
westwards  from  the  range  on  the  east  of  our  valley.  It 
ran  up  to  a  height  of  about  200  feet,  and  on  it  had 
been  the  main  Russian  artillery  position  which  was 
also  the  centre  of  their  line.  We  climbed  the  spur 
and  found  twenty  admirable  gunpits  quarried  deeply 
into  the  crest  line  with  good  solid  infantry  trenches 
beneath  them. 

The  trenches  were  from  ten  to  twenty  yards  down 
the  south  slope  of  the  spur,  and  they  and  the  gunpits 
were  certainly  the  best  made,  and  most  sensibly  placed 
I  have  seen.  To  the  west,  south-west  and  south- 
south-west  the  field  of  fire  was  perfect. 

Looking  due  west  the  railway  and  main  road  ran 
just  at  the  foot  of  the  spur,  then  came  half  a  mile  of 
perfectly  flat  open  plain  :  then  the  river  Fuchou  in  a 


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Nanshak  and  Tblissu  333 

double  channel  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across ;  then 
another  half-mile  to  the  steep  hills  on  the  western  side 
of  the  valley  which  were  held  by  the  Russian  right 
wing.  South-west  and  south-south-west  the  plain  was 
also  perfectly  flat,  affording  no  artillery  position  for 
the  Japanese,  unless  they  chose  to  advance  by  night, 
and  dig  themselves  in  before  morning.  A  degree  or 
two  to  the  east  of  south  was  a  big  mountain,  600  feet 
high  and  two  miles  long  at  the  base,  from  east  to  west. 
It  was,  I  reckoned,  2500  yards  distant  from  the  gun- 
pits,  and  while  it  almost  touched  the  railway  with  its 
western  flank,  its  eastern  flank  became  flattened  out, 
turned  northwards  and  was  joined  on  to  the  Russian 
defensive  position  by  a  long  low  neck.  The  Russians 
had  made  no  attempt  to  hold  this  mountain  as  an  out- 
work, and  the  Japanese  had  not  occupied  it  either.  I 
imagine  (for  I  had  time  to  go  over  it)  that  it  was  too 
steep  to  be  practicable  for  artillery. 

Looking  east,  the  field  of  fire  was  restricted  to  a 
distance  of  about  half  a  mile  by  the  high  main  ridge 
running  north  and  south  from  which  Gun-pit  Spur,*  as  I 
will  call  the  Russian  main  artillery  position,  descended. 
I  resolved  therefore  to  cross  this  main  ridge  so  as  to 
examine  very  carefully  the  lie  of  the  ground  on  and 
about  the  Russian  left. 

After  climbing  up  and  down  along  the  Russian 
line  of  battle  for  some  two  miles,  I  reached  the 
highest  point  in  the  long  ridge  running  north  and 
south  and,  from  an  altitude  of  some  500  feet,  I  got 
more  of  a  bird  s-eye  view  than  I  had  from  Gun- 
pit  Spur,  and,  looking  southwards,  I  now  recognised 
three  well-marked  valleys  converged  upon  the  position 
held  by  the  Russian  left  wing.  The  first  was  the 
valley  of  the  railway.   The  second  was  the  valley  of  the 

*  Chinese  name  for  locality,  Lnngwangmiao. 


«^P^^PVPWV*PVP"»^BB^^^1QHP 


334  A  Staff  Officeb's  Scbap-Book 

Fuchou  river.     The  third  was  the  valley  of  Gabuoho.* 
The    Bussian    guns  in  the  main   artillery   position 
commanded  the  valleys  of  the  railway  and  liver  veij 
completely,  but  the  valley  of  Gabuoho  was  defiladed 
by  intervening  ridges,  and  special  provision  had  there- 
fore been  made  to  deny  that  approach  to  the  enemy. 
This  Gabuoho  Valley  was  from  300  yards  to  800  yards 
wide,  and  four  gun-pits  on  an  eminence  about  800  yards 
behind  the  infantry  trenches  completely  commanded  it. 
The  infantry  trenches  were  solidly  dug  and  good, 
although  wanting  in  head  cover  or  concealment.     They 
were  in  three  tiers,  and  were  very  difficult  to  attack 
with  much  prospect  of  success  from  the  south,  as  not 
only  was  the  valley  quite  open  except  for  the  scattered 
huts  of  Gabuoho  village,  but  the  hillsides  down  which 
the  Japanese  must  have  come  to  get  to  the  valley 
were  also  quite  bare,  and  afforded  no  cover  at  all. 

I  have  now  got  the  position  of  Stakelberg's  centre 
and  left  wing  well  into  my  head,  and  it  b  specially 
necessary  I  should  commit  it  to  paper,  as  we  have  no 
maps  to  help  us.     I  will  therefore  recapitulate.    From 
the  central  artillery  position  near  the  railway  to  the 
extreme  left,  Stakelberg's  line  of  defence  extends  for 
about  three  miles.     Taken  by  itself  it  is  extremely 
strong.     An  advance  along  the  railway  or  an  endeavour 
to  turn  the  left  by  the  Grabuoho  Valley  {see  Sketch  XLL) 
would  be  most  difficult*    An  attack  by  the  valley  of 
the  Fuchou  river  was  also  very  uninviting,  but,  if 
by  chance  it  could  succeed,  certainly  promised  to  the 
victors  a  very  special  reward.    The  success  of  ad 
attack  up  the  railway  or  Gabuoho  Valley  would  merely 
press  Stakelberg^s  left  wing  and  guns   back  upon 
Telissu.    But  in  case  of  a  successful  advance  of  the 
Japanese  up  the  Fuchou  river  valley,  the  twenty  ff^ 

*  Ohineee,  Wafangwopu. 


I 


Nanbhan  and  Telissu  335 

of  the  main  artillery  position  could  not  retire  up  the 
main  valley  to  Telissu  from  whence  they  had  come. 
No,  the  guns  must  then  come  down  south  actually  in 
front  of  their  own  infantry  trenches  and  circle  round 
to  the  rear  by  the  Gabuoho  Valley.  The  lie  of  the 
ground  then  seemed  to  demand  of  the  Russians  that 
their  centre  and  left  wing  on  the  east  of  the  railway 
should  keep  a  very  bright  look  out  as  to  what  was 
happening  on  their  right,  and  to  the  west  of  the 
railway  generally. 

I  was  labouring  under  special  di£Sculties  to-day,  as 
there  was  no  officer  with  me  who  was  present  on 
June  15th.  But  I  had  a  singular  guide,  who  proved 
himself  in  some  respects  weU  qualified  as  a  battle^ 
field  cicerone.  He  was  the  warrant  officer  who 
had  been  made  specially  responsible  for  burying 
the  dead  Russians.  It  had  taken  him  a  week 
to  get  through  the  work,  and  his  retentive  memory 
threw  a  ghastly  but  extremely  vivid  light  on  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  struggle.  I  must  finish  my 
description  of  the  Russian  position  before  I  give 
some  account  of  the  fight.  But  I  cannot  do  this 
until  to-morrow,  when  I  am  to  go  over  the  line 
held  by  the  Russian  right  wing  to  the  west  of  the 
railway. 

January  28£A,  1905. — ^In  the  train  going  north.  This 
morning  I  went  out  again  with  my  grim  guide,  like 
Dante  walking  in  Hell  with  his  Virgil,  and  making  my 
way  down  the  western  side  of  the  Telissu  Valley, 
climbed  the  steep  hills  about  a  mile  and  a  half  north- 
west of  the  main  Russian  artillery  position  at  which  I 
started  yesterday.  Here  I  found  gun-pits  for  two 
batteries  on  a  hill  200  feet  high,  above  the  village  of 
SanshL  The  gun-pits  were  let  into  the  crest  like  those 
on  the  main  position  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley. 


9^:s9^r^w^gmmi^mm^^mmmmmmmmmrmmmm^mmm^ 


336  A  Staff  Officbb's  Sgbap-Book 

There  was  an  excellent  field  of  fire  to  the  south-ivest, 
but  only  a  few  hundred  yards  range  lay  open  to  the 
eastwards,  where  the  view  was  closed  by  a  higher 
range  of  hills.  One  thousand  yards  in  advance  of  the 
guns  were  the  Russian  infantry  trenches.  They  i^ere 
deep  and  good,  but  had  no  head  cover. 

I  rode   now   to  the    extreme    west,  or    right,   of 
the    Russian    line,   and  climbed  the  highest  point, 
which  was  still  crowned  by  an  old    Chinese   fort. 
A  Japanese  mountain  battery  had,  I  found,  occupied 
this  spot  during  a  part  of  the  action.     From   here 
the  infantry  trenches  turned  fi*om  running  east  and 
west,  and  were  bent  back  northwards  so  as  to  refuse 
the  Russian  right  flank.     I  found  I  was  now  standing 
on  the  western  edge    of  a   wedge   of  mountainous 
country.     The  point  of  the  wedge  was  about  a  mile 
to  the  south  of  me,  and  its  width   from    east    to 
west,  where  I  stood  and  where  the  Russian  trenches 
stretched  across  it,  was  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter. 
The  wedge  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Telissu 
Valley,  and  on  the  west  by  an  offshoot  of  that  valley, 
which  bifurcated  from  it  one  mile  south  of  the  in&ntiy 
trenches,  and,  turning  under  the  southern  point  of  the 
salient  of  mountains,  ran  back  in  a  north-westerly 
direction.      Beneath    this    southern    point    lay    the 
village  of  Ta&ngshen,  which  was  held  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  battle  by  one  battalion  of  infantry, 
one  company  of  mounted  infantry,  and  eight  guns. 
But  seeing  that  the  village  was  fully  a  mile  to  the 
south  of  the  infiuitry  trenches,  the  main  body  of  the 
Russian  right  wing  evidently  could  not  afford  much 
beyond  moral  and  artillery  support  to  the  defenders  of 
the  village  and  of  the  point  of  the  salient.     No  doubt, 
however,  the  artillery  on  the  main  position  on  the 
eMt^m  side  of  the  railway  could  bring  a  pc^ejd^l, 


Nanshan  and  Telissu  337 

enfilade  fire  on  any  troops  attacking  Tafangshen  from 
the  south. 

Looking  north-west  from  the  extreme  right  of  the 
Bussian  line,  I  could  see,  three  miles  off,  at  the  foot  of 
a  high  mountain,  a  well-defined  road  passing  through 
a  small  village  called  Bonchio.  It  was  over  this  pass 
that  a  brigade  of  the  Fourth  Division  passed,  prac- 
tically unopposed,  to  cut  into  the  Russian  line  of  retreat 
at  Telissu.     But  I  am  anticipating. 

The  open  gap  of  one  and  a  half  miles  between  the 
guns  of  the  Russian  right  wing  and  left  wing  could 
not  be  penetrated  by  an  enemy  owing  to  the  cross 
fire  which  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  Very 
rightly,  therefore,  the  Russians  had  not  detailed  many 
men  to  hold  it. 

I  could  now  grasp  the  whole  of  the  Russian  defensive 
line  very  well.  To  meet  an  attack  from  the  south  it 
was  admirable.  Everywhere  there  was  a  clear  field  of 
fire  of  one  mile.  The  Russian  right  and  centre 
possessed  this  field  of  fire  over  a  perfectly  open  plain, 
which  they  completely  dominated ;  and  although  on 
the  extreme  Russian  left  the  hills  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Gabuoho  valley  closed  in  until  there  remained  only 
some  400  yards  of  flat  ground  in  front  of  the  Russian 
rifles,  still  the  slopes  of  these  hills  were  gentle  and 
open,  offering  no  cover  to  an  enemy  descending  them 
to  attack. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  minor  tactics  there  was 
small  fault  to  find  with  the  position  selected  by  the 
Russian  general.  Indeed,  it  was  very  clever  of  him  to 
have  succeeded  in  picking  out  so  defensible  a  line  from 
the  tangle  of  mountains  which  often  lure  the  seeker 
for  a  good  battlefield  on  and  on,  from  ridge  to  ridge^ 
each  of  which  is  so  apt  to  be  commanded  by  another. 
But  from  the  standpoint  of  laiger  tactics  so  much  cao 

n  T 


888  A  Staff  Offiobr's  Scrap-Book 

hardly  be  said.  The  position  was  too  cramped  for  the 
number  of  troops  and  guns  available.  Effective  oounter- 
attack  was  difficult.  The  true  scheme  would  certainly 
appear  to  have  been  to  hold  the  narrow  defile  by 
Telissu  with  a  comparatively  weak  force  whilst  employ- 
ing the  bulk  of  the  army  to  strike  at  the  Japanese  left 
along  the  Fuchou  road.  And,  undoubtedly,  Oku  both 
expected  and  feared  some  such  attempt. 

Having  described  the  position,  I  am  now  enabled^  by 
the  kindness  of  the  Japanese,  to  say  how,  on  the 
morning  of  the  14th,  Stakelberg  meant  it  to  be  held. 
The  following  extracts  are  from  an  order  found  on  the 
body  of  a  Russian  staff  officer.  I  have  ah*eady  given 
the  composition  of  the  two  advance-guards,  which  were 
taken  from  that  document.  The  left  wing  was  to  hold 
the  ground  to  the  east  of  the  railway.  It  was  to  be 
commanded  by  Major-General  Gemgross.  The  strength 
was  four  squadrons,  twelve  battalions  of  infantry  and 
thirtynsix  guns,  four  of  them  mountain  gun&  Six 
battalions  and  twenty-eight  guns  were  to  be  in  the 
first  line,  and  six  battalions  and  eight  guns  were  to 
be  in  the  second  line. 

The  centre  was  to  hold  the  open  valley  between 
Gunpit  Spur  and  Sanshi  west  of  the  railway.  It  was 
to  be  commanded  by  Major-General  Luchkovski.  The 
strength  was  three  companies  of  in&ntry  and  twenty- 
four  guns. 

The  right  was  to  hold  from  the  railway  valley  west- 
wards on  the  high  ground.  It  was  to  be  commanded 
by  Major-General  Erause.  The  strength  was  3^  bat- 
talions  of  infantry,  eight  guns,  and  half  a  battalion  of 
Pioneers.  The  advanced  post  was  to  be  commanded 
by  Colonel  Pachinski,  and  was  to  hold  Tafangshen. 
The  strength  was  one  battalion  of  infantry,  eight  guns, 
and  one  company  of  mounted  infantry.    The  reserve  was 


Nanshan  and  Telissu  339 

to  be  posted  at  Lijutun,  just  south-west  of  Telissu,  and 
was  to  be  commanded  by  Major-Q^neral  Glasko.  The 
strength  was  eight  battalions  of  infantry  and  sixteen 
guns. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  14  th  the  reserve  under 
Glasko  was  moved  to  the  lefb  to  support  Gemgross  in 
making  an  attack  against  the  Russian  right  on  the 
morning  of  June  15  th.  During  the  night  of  the  14th 
five  more  battaUons  of  infantry  came  up  by  railway, 
and  were  held  in  reserve  near  Telissu,  thus  replacing 
Glasko. 

I  now  come  to  June  15th,  when  Oku,  with  32,000 
men  and  162  guns,  had  resolved  to  attack  Stakelberg's 
28,000  Russians  and  90  guns  before  further  reinforce- 
ments could  reach  them  from  the  north.  Stakelberg, 
on  his  side,  had  also  determined  to  attack  the  Japanese 
right. 

The  p]an  of  the  Japanese  commander  was  to  attack 
Stakelberg's  left  and  centre  with  the  Third  Division, 
whilst  with  the  Fifth  Division  and  a  mixed  brigade 
detached  from  the  Fourth  Division  he  attempted  to 
turn  their  right.  The  Cavalry  Brigade  of  two  regi- 
ments and  six  machine  guns,  aided  by  a  mountain 
battery  from  the  Fifth  Division,  was  to  make  a 
separate  wide  turning  movement  round  the  Russian 
left  and  to  endeavour  to  cut  their  line  of  retreat. 

The  dawn  was  ushered  in  by  a  thick  mist,  which 
enabled  the  Third  Division  to  push  through  the  rail- 
way gap  to  fairly  close  quarters  before,  at  5.30  A.1C., 
the  vapours  cleared  away  and  the  Russian  artillery  on 
Gun-pit  Spur  opened  upon  them  and  drove  them  back 
into  ^e  defile.  Another  portion  of  the  same  Division 
moved  up  the  Gkibuoho  Valley,  and,  being  unsupported 
by  artillery,  found  themselves  overmatched  by  the 
Russian  fire  firom  their  four  field-pieces  and  three  tiers 


» ■■  ■    >jr 


340  A  Staff  Offigbb's  Scrap-Book 

of  infantry  trenches.  Seeing  that  he  could  hold  his 
enemies  in  check,  Major-General  Gemgross,  -who  was 
commanding  in  this  part  of  the  field,  tried  frequent 
counter  attacks  which  met  with  some  success,  forcing 
Oku  twice  to  reinforce  his  lefb  from  his  general  reBerve. 

Mj  guide  was  able  to  give  me  exceedingly  significant 
details  as  to  the  course  of  the  action  in  this  part  of  the 
field  All  along  the  main  Russian  artillery  position  in 
the  centre  to  the  trenches  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Gabuoho  Valley,  he  did  not  find  half  a  dozen  dead 
Russians.  But  in  the  village  of  Grabuoho  itself,  and  in 
its  immediate  vicinity,  he  had  personally  superintended 
the  burial  of  several  hundreds.  Certsdnly  over  three 
hundred. 

I  closely  questioned  him  as  to  whether  he  had 
buried  any  Russians  up  the  eastern  or  Japanese  hill 
side  of  the  valley,  and  he  said  yes,  that  there  were 
scattered  corpses  dotted  about  the  slope  for  a  distance 
of  200  yards  up  from  the  valley,  but  that  beyond  200 
yards  there  were  none.  Most  certainly  he  had  found 
no  Russian  corpse  on  the  crest  line  of  the  hills  forming 
the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Gabuoho  Valley.  It  seems 
then  that  a  wrong  impression  has  been  given  to  the 
world  by  the  accounts  which  have  thus  far  appeared 
in  the  Press  concerning  the  action  of  the  Russian  left 
From  reading  these  accounts  I  had  imagined  that 
Gerngross  had  marched  some  considerable  distance, 
and  had  attacked  and  half  surprised  the  Japanese 
light.  Now  it  seems  clear  that  although  he  must 
have  coimter-attacked  with  resolution,  he  did  not  ever 
succeed  in  making  much  headway.  His  assaulting 
lines  apparently  issued  from  their  .trenches,  crossed 
the  valley,  a  distance  of  500  yards,  and  got  from  100 
to  200  yards  up  the  opposite  hill  side,  when  they  were 
brought  to  a  standstill     It  is  curious  to  think  that 


Nanshan  and  Telissu  841 

the  most  capable  staff  officers  on  either  side,  or  even 
the  generals  in  local  command,  could  not  supply 
me  with  information  so  reliable  as  that  which  has 
descended  upon  me  through  the  medium  of  this 
glorified  gravedigger.* 

Whilst  the  Third  Division  was  thus  unable  to  make 
any  impression  upon  the  Bussian  centre  or  left,  the 
Fourth  Division,  with  fifty-four  guns  belonging  to  the 
independent  Artillery  Brigade  (in  addition  to  its  own 
guns),  moved  north-westwards  and  northwards.  Its 
orders  were  to  hold  out  a  hand  to  the  mixed  brigade 
from  the  Fourth  Division  (which  at  dawn  had  been 
still  some  ten  miles  to  the  west  of  the  battlefield), 
and  to  attack  the  village  of  Tafangshen,  just  south  of 
the  point  of  the  mountainous  wedge-shaped  salient 
athwart  which  the  Russian  right  wing  was  entrenched 
This  village  was  captured  at  9.20  A.M.,  after  fighting 
which  was  not  severe.  There  were  hardly  any  Rus- 
sian corpses  buried  there,  which  looks  as  if  the 
defenders  had  trusted  mainly  to  their  shrapnel  to 
prevent  the  occupation  of  this  point. 

In  my  description  of  the  Russian  position  I  have 
explained,  very  likely  with  the  cleverness  which  comes 
of  knowing  what  happened,  that  a  Japanese  success 
here  was  just  about  the  most  &tal  mischance  which 
could  possibly  have  happened  to  the  Russians. 
Tafangshen,  and  the  high  ground  immediately  to  the 
north  of  it,  was  beyond  a  doubt  the  Achilles  heel  of  a 
position  otherwise  fairly  strong.  If  either  flank  were 
turned,  all  that  the  Japanese  could  do  would  be  to 
press  the  Russians  back  into  the  Telissu  Valley,  where 

*  It  is  said,  however,  that  at  St.  Privat  some  of  the  German 
burying-partieB  carried  their  dead  up  the  hill  so  that  their  graveB 
might  appear  doeer  to  the  enemy's  position  than  those  of  rival 
regiments* 


842  A  Staff  Offigosb's  Sgbap-Book 

they  could  retire  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  to  every 
mile  that  Oku's  men  could  pursue  up  and  down  the 
mountainfl.  But  the  capture  of  Tafangshen  denied  the 
Telissu  Valley  as  an  avenue  of  retreat  to  the  Russians 
for  as  far  as  shrapnel  would  range,  namely,  some  three 
miles; 

As   might  have  heen  expected,  directly  Tafang- 
shen was  captured,  Colonel  Shiba,  one  of  the  very 
beet  officers  in  the  whole  of  the  Japanese  Army,  came 
hurrying  up  with  the  15  th  Artillery  Regiment  and 
brought  a  cross  fire  upon  the  main  Russian  artilleiy 
position  at  Gun-pit  Spur,  thus  easing  the  position  on 
the  Third  Division.     It  then  became  obvious  that  the 
Russian  guns  would  have  great  difficulty  in  moving. 
They  could  not  now  possibly  limber  up  under  Shiba's 
fire  and  come  slowly  down  the  steep  spur  into  the  open 
valley.     They  could  only  retire  by  coming  over  the 
southern  brow  of  Gun-pit  Spur  and  by  passing  along 
the  front  of  their  own  infantry  to  gain  the  Gabuoho 
Valley,  where  they  might    possibly,  but  very   im- 
probably, escape  by  running  the  gaunUet  of  the  rifle-fire 
of  the  Third  Division.    Why  then  did  not  the  Russian 
reserves,  half  a  mile  south  of  Telissu,  come  up  and 
make  at  least  one  good  charge  against  the  villa^  of 
Tafangshen?    I  cannot  say.     No  counter-attack  was 
made,  and  the  Japanese  proceeded  to  improve  their 
success  by  capturing  the  southern  point  of  the  moun- 
tainous wedge  held  by  the  Russian  right  wing. 

A  mountain  battery  now  came  up  on  to  these  hills 
to  help  the  15th  Artillery  Regiment,  and  by  the 
combined  Japanese  fire  the  Russian  guns,  both  in  their 
main  position  and  in  the  right  wing,  were  silenced  at 
about  11  A.M.  At  this  time  also  the  mixed  Brigade 
of  the  Fourth  Division  marching  through  Bonchio 
Gap,  got  into  touch   with  the  Fifth  Division   and 


Nanshan  and  Tslissu  848 

threatened  to  envelop  the  Russian  right  and  to  cut  in 
behind  them  at  a  point  in  the  Telissu  Valley  four  miles 
north  of  the  battlefield.  I  was  assured  that  when  the 
Mixed  Brigade  passed  through  the  Bonchio  Gap  the 
whole  of  the  Russian  Army  was  still  in  its  trenches. 
If  so,  it  is  marvellous  that  Stakelberg  did  not 
experience  a  real  disaster,  instead  of  a  mere  defeat.  It 
appears  that  the  Russian  cavalry  first  came  into 
contact  with  them  at  the  Bonchio  gap,  but  that  their 
advance  was  not  checked  until  they  got  within  a  mile 
of  the  Telissu  Valley.  At  this  spot  my  guide  had 
also  buried  many  corpses,  but  unfortunately  I  had 
no  time  to  go  and  make  a  personal  inspection  of  the 
terrain. 

Soon  after  the  Russian  guns  were  mastered,  the 
reserves  (which  had  not  fired  a  shot)  began  to  fall 
back.  I  cannot,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  recall 
another  similar  example  of  reserves  initiating  a  retreat. 
On  the  north-west  frontier  of  India,  the  art  of  retire- 
ment has  been  reduced  to  an  exact  science.  This 
sounds  sarcastic,  but  it  certainly  is  not  meant  so.  The 
hill  tribes  rarely  fight  as  long  as  our  troops  are 
advancing;  but  the  moment  the  reconnaissance,  or 
punitive  expedition,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  begins  to 
make  its  way  back  to  camp,  it  is  attacked  and  pursued 
by  an  enemy  until  then  invisible. 

In  South  Africa  also,  even  if  the  head  of  the 
column  was  pursuing  after  a  victory,  the  tail  of 
it  was  almost  invariably  fighting  a  rearguard  action. 
I  merely  quote  these  experiences  to  give  force  to 
my  view  that  the  normal  function  of  a  reserve 
under  the  conditions  obtaining  at  Telissu  would 
have  been  (l)  to  retake  Tafangshen ;  (2)  if  a  retreat 
were  determined  upon,  to  take  up  a  position  a  rifle- 
shot north  of  the  Russian  line  of  battle,  so  as  to  let 


344  A  SzAwr  Owrmalz  Scrai^Book 

all  didr  own  troops  tluoogfa  pfqpanfcotj  to  taldngiip 
the  diiti68  of  reargaaid. 

Bj  mid-daj,  the  right  wing  sdll  d^nding  them- 
•elyes,  hegan  definitelj,  though  skwfy,   to   retreat. 
Sbrange  to  say,  not  a  single  Kianan  corpse  was  Ibond 
at  or  near  these  trenches.     It  was  not  until  a  point 
nearl  J  half  a  mile  north  of  the  trendies  tiiat  the  graTe- 
digger^s  work  had  hegan«    PossiUy  the  Bniwians  wk« 
aUe  to  send  back  their  dead  until  thdr  retreat  became 
more  hnrried.     Posdbly  the  fighting  here  uras  not  fio 
stiff  as  it  has  been  rqnresented.     But  however  this 
may  be,  it  is  yet  more  strange  that  for  scMne  reason,  at 
present  inexplicable,  Gemgross  and  the  left  wing,  wbo 
were  gaDantly  holding  their  own,  and  more  than  holding 
their  own,  were  permitted  to  stand  &st,  althoagfa  the 
retirement  of  the  right  wing  qmte  uncovered  tbcff 
western  flank.     After  an  hoar  or  two  the  J^^paneee 
cavalry  b^;an  to  make  itself  felt  on  the  eastern  flank 
of  the  left  wing,  and  then  at  last  Gremgross  issnetl 
tardy  ordere  for  a  withdrawal     There  was  great  diffi- 
culty in  extricating  the  infiintiy,  and  most  of  the  gon^ 
had  to  be  abandoned.     My  corpse-man  told  me  he 
buried  many  Rnssians  along  the  line  of  retreat  from 
Gabuoho  to  LikiatmL 

The  Japanese  now  got  their  gone  up  on  to  Gon^pi^ 
Spur,  in  among  the  captured  Russian  cannon,  and 
began  firing  down  the  Telissu  defile.  The  Mixed 
Brigade  irom  the  Fourth  Division  was  only  being  held 
back  with  difficulty  from  crowning  the  western  heights 
a  mile  north  of  Telissu.  Things  looked  as  bad  as  bad 
could  be  for  Stakelberg,  when  a  blinding  rainstonn 
came  on,  and,  blotting  everything  from  view,  eaded 
the  conflict 

Looked  at  from  the  Japanese  standpoint,  the  battle 
of  Telissu  was  a  pretty  piece  of  tactics.     But  the 


1 


Nanshan  and  Telissu  845 

"vireakness  of  Stakelberg  on  his  right  wing  and  the 
somewhat  feehle  resistance  shown  there  made  the  game 
comparatively  easy.  If  I  were  to  venture  on  a  criticism 
of  General  Oku's  operations  I  should  say  he  was  stra- 
tegically in  too  great  a  hurry,  and  that  tactically  he 
attempted  too  much. 

I  need  not  labour  the  point  that  if  he  had  been 
able  to  play  with  Stakelberg  during  June  15  until 
the  Mixed  Brigade  from  the  Fourth  Division  had  got 
within  striking  distance  of  Telissu,  hardly  any  of  the 
Russians  would  have  escaped.  Also,  taking  the  actual 
attack  as  it  was  carried  out,  the  Japanese  commander 
endeavoured  to  turn  both  Stakelberg's  flanks  and  to 
carry  the  position  all  along  its  front,  although  he  had 
only  a  small  superiority  of  in&ntry,  and  of  half  as 
much  again  in  guns. 

In  my  humble  opinion,  only  a  superiority  of  two  to 
one  can  ordinarily  warrant  a  commander  in  thus  dis- 
pensing with  all  those  niceties  of  warfare  which  tend 
to  mislead  the  enemy  and  to  force  him  to  retain  troops 
to  meet  what  is  only  a  feint  and  not  a  home  thrust. 
Moreover,  Oku's  method  is  costly  of  life.     I  know  well 
that  British  generals  stand  convicted  of  the  ultimately 
far  more  cruel  habit  of  hesitating  to  spend  lives  freely. 
But  there  is  probably  a  golden  mean.     Generals  should 
remember  that  each  soldier's  life  which  they  carry  in 
their  hand  is  a  tiny  bit  of  their  country  and  its  power. 
Then  they  will  probably  be  guided  by  Heaven  to  act 
aright  in  the  hour  of  need.     The  Japanese  did  not,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  lose  much  at  Telissu ;  only  1000  or 
one-tenth  of  their  adversaries'  casualties.     But  it  is 
for  this  very  reason  that  I  choose  the  present  occasion 
for  my  remark. 

Begarding  the  problem  from  the  Russian  point  of 
view,  Tafangshen  was  so  vital  a  point  that  it  should 


34©  A  Staff  Officbe's  Scrap-Book 

have  been  strongly  fortified  and  strengthened  by  barbed 
wire,  abattis,  and  loop-holed  houses*    The  whole  line 
of  the  in&ntry  of  the  right  wing  should  have   been 
advanced  half  a  mile  on  to  the  next  ridge  to  the  south 
to  give  it  closer  support.  The  Reserve,  above  all,  should 
have  been  kept  handy  to  meet  such  a  likely  eventuality 
as  an  attempt  by  the  Japanese  to  carry  this  vital  point 
by  a  coup  de  main.     I  had  not  the  advantage  of  being 
present  at  the  battle,  but  the  cross-fire  of  shrapnel  in 
front  of  the  village  should  have  rendered  it  almost  im- 
pregnable to  a  day  assault,  even  as  it  was.     Stilly  it 
was  taken.     Well,  then,  it  should  have  been  re-taken, 
or  the  battle  was  lost.   What  was  the  Reserve  doing  ? 
I  hardly  know  what  to  say  about  the  Mixed  Brigade 
from  the  Fourth  Division  on  the  Fuchou  main  road, 
and  its  apparently  unexpected  appearance  behind  the 
right  rear  of  the  Russians.     It  is  quite  possible  that 
the  hasty  falling  back  of  the  Reserve  and  the  consequent 
loss  of  the  battle  may  be  in  some  way  attributable  to 
the  anxiety  caused  by  this  menace  to  Stakelberg's 
communications.     In  the  ordinary  course  of  military 
operations,  an  infantry  brigade  moving  from  a  highway 
to  participate  in  an  action  against  a  force  well  equipped 
with  cavalry  would  have  had  its  movement  detected 
as  soon  as  it  arrived  within    twenty  miles  of  its 
objective.    For  the  country,  though  mountainous,  was 
not  by  any  means  wooded  or  close.     On  the  contrary, 
I  have  never  seen  a  terrain  better  adapted  for  the 
employment  of  cavalry  either  mounted  as  an  observing 
force  or  dismounted  as  a   retarding  force.      There 
were  numberless  peaks  to  give  an  extensive  view  of  the 
surrounding  country,  which  was  for  the  most  part  open 
and  un wooded.    There  were  many  ridges  where  mobile 
riflemen  could  have  forced  regular  infantry  to  deploy 
for  attack,  and  to  come  into  action  with  their  artillery. 


i^mf^i'^^^'^^^^^^r'rt^^mmw^^m^mmf^^^^s^^^^i  ■  U-    '^^■^^^     ■■■  ■  l». 


""^ 


Nanshan  and  Tblissu  847 

If,  of  course,  the  cavalry  were  bent  upon  charging  with 
lance  and  sabre,  then  the  commander  must  pay  the 
penalty. 

I  can  only  say  that  if  Stakelberg  had  been  informed 
(as  he  ought  to  have  been)  by  his  cavalry  of  the 
spot  where  the  Mixed  Brigade  camped  on  the  night 
of  the  14th- 15th,  he  should,  considering  the  nature  of 
the  country,  have  been  able  to  make  sure  that  they 
did  not  cover  the  ten  miles  which  separated  them  from 
the  battlefield  before  nightfall.  Some  officers  have 
a  theory  that  owing  to  the  Russians  having  no  divi- 
sional cavalry  the  sympathy  between  the  mounted 
and  dismounted  branches  is  weaker  than  in  other 
armies,  but  I  confess  this  idea  seems  to  me  a  little  too 
fanciful. 

I  hope  I  have  not  been  over  critical.  The  highest 
authority  tells  us  that  he  is  the  best  general  who 
makes  fewest  mistakes.  All  military  operations  are 
so  dependent  for  their  success  upon  the  aid  of  fortune, 
that  it  is  very  unjust  to  attribute  blame  unless  it  can 
be  made  clear  that  the  accepted  axioms  of  war  have, 
to  some  extent,  been  infringed.  Unless  Kuropatkin  can 
show  that  he  could  not  spare  another  Division,  and 
that  he  had  sufficient  grounds  to  justify  him  in  sending 
a  comparatively  weak  force  so  far  to  the  south,  then 
he  is  the  chief  offender  against  those  recognised  axioms. 
Stakelberg  must  justify  to  history  his  apparent  igno- 
rance of  the  advance  of  a  Japanese  Division  up  the 
Fuchou  road  and  of  the  detachment  of  a  brigade  from  it 
to  turn  his  right  flank.  He  must  show  how  his  cavalry, 
when  they  did  detect  the  brigade,  failed  to  delay  it 
with  their  rifles  and  horse  guns  in  the  succession  of 
confined  and  rugged  passes  over  which  it  had  to  move. 
He  must  explain  why  his  right  wing  fell  back  indepen- 
dently, leaving  Gremgross  and  his  left  in  the  lurch. 


■^■»»  -*■ 


348  A  Staff  Offigeb's  Scrap-Book 

Very  likely  he  can  do  so  triumphantly.  I  merely  state 
a  case  from  information  necessarily  imperfect. 

As  regards  General  Oku,  all  that  can  be  said 
against  him  is  that  he  tried,  perhaps,  to  do  too  much. 
Surely,  if  that  is  a  fault,  it  is  one  which  is  closely  akin 
to  the  very  highest  of  our  virtues. 

I  have  written  this  in  the  train,  which  has  been 
passing  through  grey,  craggy  mountains  covered  with 
snow  wherever  the  surface  is  not  too  precipitous.  The 
red  winter  sun  is  setting  behind  a  lofty  range  on  to  our 
left,  and  in  the  valley  a  frozen  river  winds  like  a  huge 
serpent  with  its  scales  of  ice  all  glittering  in  the  sunset 
In  the  distance  I  can  see  a  line  of  Japanese  transport 
passing  across  the  river.  The  scene  is  wild  and  melan- 
choly, but  yet  strikes  me  with  that  sense  of  familiarity 
and  homeliness  which  comes  of  old  associations.  The 
reason  is,  I  think,  that  it  reminds  me  of  a  picture  of 
adventures  in  the  Arctic  regions  which  used  to  excite 
my  imagination  when  I  was  quite  a  small  child. 


i^i^*'»"""-^"*-3»Pi^*^^W^^W«B»Wi^»"'-^i^i^'^i^P-*^"ilBP9i^«^ 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
FUJI  VEILS    HER    FACE 

Coal  Mines,  Januo/ry  29«A,  1905. — ^We  reached  our 
old  quarters  here  at  noon,  and  the  salute  which  wel- 
comed our  return  was  fired  by  several  hundred  guns, 
which  are  muttering  and  rumbling  continuously  from 
the  direction  of  the  far  west,  whenever  the  louder 
but  more  intermittent  cannonade  closer  to  us  in  the 
north  ceases  for  a  moment  to  let  us  hear  the  ominous 
undertones  of  a  distant  battle.  In  the  midst  of  the 
hurly-burly  an  adjutant  from  headquarters  handed  me 
a  cable  and  asked  me  to  come  and  breakfast  privately 
with  Greneral  Kuroki  next  morning.  He  said  it  was 
too  late  to  go  out  and  see  the  fighting,  as  it  was 
virtually  decided  in  favour  of  the  Japanese.  Ordinarily 
I  should  have  struggled  against  this  decision,  but  I  had 
such  a  racking  headache  from  the  fumes  of  the  char- 
coal stoves  with  which  we  kept  life  in  ourselves  during 
the  night  in  the  train  that  I  was  only  too  glad  to  have 
so  good  an  excuse  for  doing  nothing. 

The  cable  was  to  summon  me  post  haste  from  war's 
alarms  to  the  safe  seclusion  of  Salisbury  Plain. 

Well,  so  be  it.  I  shall  miss  a  great  battle,  for  Nogi's 
Third  Army  is  hurrying  northwards  as  fast  as  trains 
and  roads  will  take  it,  and  the  Japanese  are  bound  to 
try  and  win  the  mctoire  decisive*  of  which  they  so 

*  I  use  the  French  phrase  because  it  was  always  employed  by  the 
Japanese,  even  by  the  Gferman-speaking  officers. 


350  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

constantly  speak  before  the  winter  relaxes  its  iron  grip 
on  all  the  rivers  and  roads.  But,  by  the  time  I  g^et  back 
to  London  I  shall  have  been  fifteen  months  stbsent, 
nearly  two-thirds  of  which  time  I  shall  have   spent 
actually  in  the  field.     I  have  seen  every  sort  of  fight 
except  a  cavalry  fight,  and  I  have  studied  and  described 
terrain  until  I  am  in  danger  of  knowing  Mancharia  as 
intimately  as  South  Africa.     In  short,  enough  is  as 
good  as  a  feast ;  even  if  it  is  not  so,  it  is  better  to  try 
to  believe  that  it  is  so,  for  those  who  wear  the  King^s 
uniform  must  accept  their  destiny  wherever  it  leads 
thenL 

CoAL-MiNES,  Jdnuanry  ZOth,   1905. — I  have    just 
enjoyed  the  most  agreeable  of  all  the  many  agreeabk 
visits    I    have    paid    to  First  Army  Headquarters. 
General  Kuroki,  one  staff  officer  and  myself;  no  one 
else.     The  conversation  was  intimate  and  unconven- 
tional.   I  gave  all  my  Port  Arthur  impressions  fireely, 
and  Kuroki  was  keenly  interested,  especially,  I  think,  in 
hearing  that  so  far  no  report  which  has  reached  us  has 
succeeded  in  conveying  an  adequate  idea  of  the  stupen- 
dous monument  to  valour  raised  by  victors  and  van- 
quished on  203  Metre  HiU.    I  expounded  my  Nanshan 
and  Telissu  theories  much  as  I  have  entered  them  in 
my  diary ;  and  whether  out  of  politeness  or  fix>m  con- 
viction my  hosts  seemed  inclined  to  accept  my  views. 
Something,  I  forget  what,  turned  the  conversation  on 
to  the  feverish  restlessness  which,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  twentieth  century,  characterises  so  many  great 
nations.     I  remarked  that  the  English  people,  by  the 
dumb,  stubborn  conservatism  which  they  consistently 
opposed  to  the  zealous  fervour  of  the  Scotch  and  to  the 
Celtic  brilliance  of  the  Irish,  kept  the  ship  of  State  on 
even  keel,  and  were  the  true  cause  of  the  grandeur 


The  British  Attache  with  the  2nd  Division  isi  Armv 
Captain  B.  Vcncent.  R.F.A. 


f=^^^7mm^mf^^^m.sj- m .^    ■ —i  .Hi^ii^— aw 


^p- 


Fuji  Ybils  hbr  Face  351 

ajid  stability  of  the  British  Empire.  In  the  race  of 
nations,  it  was,  I  thought,  always  safe  to  back  the 
tortoise  against  the  hare. 

Kuroki  seemed  inclined  to  appreciate  this  sentiment 
and  said,  **  Certainly  it  is  dangerous  to  change  old 
customs  hurriedly.  Now  that  we  have  beaten  Russia, 
I  hope  my  fellow  countrymen  will  see  that  there  cannot 
be  anything  so  radically  wrong  with  us  after  all,  and 
that  they  will  be  inclined  to  continue  their  advance 
more  slowly.  My  own  generation  has  about  run  its 
race.  Nothing  can  change  us.  But,  the  coming  genera- 
tion ?  I  would  have  greater  confidence  in  the  future 
if  I  were  sure  that  there  is  a  large  section  of  our  people 
who,  like  the  English,  have  a  positive  dislike  to  change, 
even  when  it  plausibly  assumes  the  guise  of  improve- 
ment.' 

We  spoke  of  certain  officers  and  of  the  comparative 
values  of  intelligence  and  force  of  character.  The  staff 
officer  incidentally  remarked  that,  being  anxious  to 
test  the  insight,  imagination  and  good  taste  of  his 
subordinates,  he  had  asked  them  all  separately  whether 
they  preferred  the  cherry-blossom  or  the  plum-blossom. 
Imagine  the  Director  of  Military  Education  posing 
such  conundrums!  And  yet,  why  not?  I  am  sure 
that  in  his  name  questions  much  less  practical  are 
constantly  being  set  to  unfortunate  candidates.  I 
laughed  very  much,  however,  when  I  heard  the  answer 

given  by  the  cautious  Major  F .     He    said   he 

admired  both  the  plum  and  cherry-blossom  in  equal 
degree.   His  reply  hits  him  off  to  a  T. 

It  was  arranged  that  I  should  leave  on  February 
6tb,  and  that  a  banquet  should  be  given  in  my  honour 
by  Kuroki  on  the  4th  instant.  Meanwhile,  as  good 
an  account  as  was  available  of  the  action  of  Heikoutai, 


352  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

which  ended  yesterday,  would  he  dictated  to  me  in  the 
next  room. 

In  taking  my  leave  I  said  that  hefore  very  long  I 
hoped  the  First  Army  would  also  he  returning  home. 
The  war  heroes  would  get  a  tremendous  reception,  bat 
it  was  wise  to  rememher  that  all  the  great  -welcome  and 
attention  which  would  he  pressed  upon  the  officers 
would  not  last  very  long— six  months  at  most.  Kuroki 
laughed,  and  assured  me  I  need  not  he  afraid  he  wouU 
lose  his  balance.  He  agreed  with  me,  only  he  considered 
I  had  much  overstated  the  probahle  period  of  public 
enthusiasm.  He  knew  all  about  that  bubble  from  his 
own  experiences  after  the  China  War.  Soldiers  in  all 
countries  were  either  spoilt  or  neglected.  There  was 
no  sense  of  proportion.  Anyway  it  was  all  one  to  hin^i 
for  he  was  getting  old,  and  all  he  wished  was  to  be  leA 
perfectly  quiet  to  lead  his  own  life  and  perform  his  own 
duties. 

STORY  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  26th-29th 

JANUARY 

CONDENSED   FROM  THE   ACCOUNT   DICTATED   TO   MX  AFTKB 
BREAKFAST   ON   THE   30TH  JANUARY 

At  midday  on  January  24th,  spies  reported  that 
on  January  23rd  a  movement  southwards  bad  been 
noticed  at  Mukden.  Sure  enough,  on  the  25th  the 
enemy  hegan  to  cross  the  Hun  river  opposite  the 
extreme  left  of  the  Manchurian  Army. 

We  now  know  that  the  Russian  forces  engaged  at 
Heikoutai  amounted  to  more  than  four  J)ivisiot^t 
namely  the  Eighth  Army  Corps,  a  part  of  the  I^ 
Siberian  Army  Corps,  and  two  Brigades  of  Sharp- 
shooters.   But  at  first,  Marquis  Gyama  had  no  idea 


Fuji  Ysils  Her  Faoe  353 

that  he  was  about  to  meet  an  attack  from  so  formidable 
a  forca 

On  January  26thy  news  was  sent  to  say  that  the 
Hussians  were  approaching  Heikoutai  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Hunho,  forty  miles  south-west  of  Mukden. 
Two  other  hostile  columns  were  said  to  be  on  the  move ; 
one  coming  through  Ghonan  five  miles  north-east  of 
Heikoutai,  and  the  other  a  few  miles  to  the  south-west 
of  HeikoutaL     These  three  columns  were  apparently 
endeavouring  to  turn  our  left  wing,  and  in  addition 
several  Bussian  detachments  were  marching  due  south 
and   making  for  the  weakly-held  gap  between  our 
extreme  left  and  the  left  centre.  When  our  information 
had  BO  fer  enlightened  us  we  realised,  it  is  true,  that 
there  was  something  serious  in  the  wind,  but  we  were 
still  sorely  puzzled  as  to  whether  we  had  merely  to 
deal  with  an  attempt  to  gain  some   local  advantage, 
or  whether  we  were  confronted  with  the  preliminaries 
to  a  general  Russian  advance.     One  thing  seemed 
certain.      J£  Kuropatkin  meant  serious  business  he 
could  not  confine  his  attack  to  one  point  only.     There- 
fore, as  nothing  happened  elsewhere,  we  assumed  that 
the  manoeuvring  against  our  left  could  not,  of  itself, 
possibly  develop  into  a  serious  attack,  and  we  hurried 
on  our  preparations  to  meet  an  assault  and  Airious 
battle  along  the  whole  of  our  line.     Still,  strange  to 
say,  even  twelve  hours  after  the  enemy  had  crossed  the 
Hun  river  we  were  entirely  unable  to  detect  any  sign 
of  activity  along  the  front  of  our  main  positions. 

But  theories  must  yield  to  fitcts,  and  certainly  as 
time  went  on  it  seemed  beyond  argument  that  the 
Russians  were  committing  themselves  to  an  important 
attack  against  our  left.  We  were  driven  then  to  ask 
ourselves  what  could  be  the  object  of  such  a  move- 
n  z 


354  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

ment  From  the  enemy's  point  of  view  nothing  ooul 
seem  less  opportune  Several  weeks  had  passed  m 
the  fiJl  of  Port  Arthur,  and  Russian  headquarter 
must  have  known  that  at  least  a  part  of  Nogi's  Thin 
Army  had  arrived  at  the  front.  I£  Mistchenko's  m 
had  done  no  other  good  it  must  have  enabled  him  b 
report  so  much  at  least  to  his  Commander-in-Chief 
In  our  bewilderment  we  turned  to  the  explanatio: 
that  politics  must  again  be  at  the  bottom  of  tk 
militarily  incomprehensible,  and  we  began  to  think  n 
possible  we  should  after  all  have  to  fight  an  emptj, 
meaningless  partial  action  on  our  left,  instead  of  & 
great  general  action. 

Accordingly,  the  General  Beserve,  the  Bgl^^ 
Division,  was  despatched  to  Heikoutai,  and  marciea 
there  with  one  Kobi  Brigade  on  the  night  of^i^ 
26th  January.  It  comes  from  the  north-west^ 
Japan  near  the  home  of  our  renowned  Second  Divisiat 
and  we  expect  to  hear  when  we  get  details  that  they 
have  done  just  as  well  or  perhaps  even  better  than  toe*' 
comrades.  Certainly  they  made  a  good  start  by  m*^ 
ing  nineteen  miles  in  this  awful  weather.*  The  Fut^ 
Division  fi^om  the  Fourth  Army  was  the  next  to  loo^ 
oflF,  leaving  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  and  reaching  ^^ 

*  I  heard  f lom  another  source  that  the  Eighth  DivisioD,  tm* 
they  fought  bravely,  showed  some  of  the  qualities  uf  yooDg  ^^^^j 
compared  with  the  veteran  troops  of  the  First  Army.  '^^.^ 
as  if  they  were  atmancsuvres ;  advanced  in  dose  regular  form*^ 
There  was  ffood-natured  chaff  between  the  old  hands  and  tbe 
comers.  The  Eighth  Division  wounded  were  proud  of  ^^.  \T^ 
and  thought  themselves  great  heroes  until  they  were  weU  ff^^ 
by  the  veterans  of  the  Second  Division.  They  allowed  their  i**  ^ 
water  to  get  frosen  solid,  whilst  the  wily  Second  Division  ^^^ 
their  rations  by  wrapping  them  up  in  their  "sodenashee  \f  ^^  I 
fur  waistcoats)  and  kept  them  warm  and  eatable  under  u^        i 


Fuji  Veils  Her  Face  355 

battlefield  by  the  evening  of  the  27th.  Our  Second 
Division  followed  them  doselv,  and  last  of  all  a  second 
Brigade  of  Eobi  marched  w4twards.  making  a  grand 
total  of  four  Japanese  Divisions  of  infantry,  the 
Second  Brigade  of  cavalry  and  an  independent 
Brigade  of  artillery.  Major-Greneral  Tatsumi,  com- 
manded the  Eighth  Division,  and  the  Fifth  Division 
was  commanded  by  our  old  friend  Kigosbi,  until 
recently  the  famous  Brigadier  in  the  Twelfth  Division. 
Our  Second  Division  was,  of  course,  under  Nishijima.* 

So  far  we  have  few  details  of  the  fight.  We  know 
that  as  the  Eighth  Division  was  in  the  act  of  attacking 
westwards,  a  force  of  Russians  advanced  against  them 
from  Shujiho,  which  was  four  miles  to  the  south  of 
them.  Their  left  wing  was  forced  to  face  southwards, 
whilst  their  centre  and  right  continued  to  fight  with 
their  faces  to  the  west. 

This  was  an  awkward  situation  for  an  untried 
Division,  but  luckily  before  much  harm  could  be  done 
the  veteran  Second  Division  came  up  and  attacked  the 
enemy  from  the  south,  forcing  them  to  relax  their  grip 
on  the  Eighth  Division. 

We  know  also  that  the  Russian  detachments  coming 
down  from  the  north  against  the  weakly-held  gap 
between  our  extreme  left  and  our  left  centre  attacked 
the  Japanese  posts  at  Ohintanpu  f  and  Litajentun. 
Against  the  Chintanpu  entrenchment,  which  was  held 
by  three  companies  and  two  machine  guns,  the  enemy 
made  no  less  than  five  determined  attack&  Fortu- 
nately, they  launched  their  assaults  piecemeal,  one 

*  Major-Gfeneral  Baron  Nishi  had  been  transferred  to  the  post 
of  Governor  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsola. 

t  Ohintanpu  is  called  Shenshanpu  by  the  Chinese  and  Sandepu 
by  the  Bossians. 


»iw^r3^ 


356  A  Staff  Offioeb's  Sgbap-Book 

battalion  at  a  time.  Their  formations  were  dose,  anc 
the  machine  guns  worked  havoc  with  them.  It  is  eaii 
that  1000  Russians  are  lying  dead  in  front  of  Chin- 
tanpu.  Had  they  worked  on  a  wide  firont  they  must 
easily  have  enveloped  such  a  small  isolated  poet,  but 
they  chose  to  run  their  heads  straight  against  it.  Oar 
second  Cavalry  Brigade  was  posted  at  this  time  near 
Shohokka,  where  the  Hun  and  Taitsu  rivers  meet* 
They  had  a  hard  time,  being  opposed  by  gieatlt 
superior  forces,  but  somehow  they  managed  to  hold 
their  own.  On  January  26,  one  and  a  half  squadioos 
reconnoitred  Heikoutai,  but  could  not  make  out  the 
Bussian  forces  dearly. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  however,  the  Kussiaos 
attacked    in  force  along  the    line    Laokyo-Somaha 
Mistchenko  also  moved  south  with  one  cavalry  regi- 
ment and  twelve  guns  from  Ashigu  towards  Shohokbi, 
and  then  turned  due  east,  crossing  the  Hunho  opposite 
Kojiho,  which  he  attacked*   There  Mistchenko  was  met 
by  the  Eighth  Division  and  by  part  of  the  Second 
Division ;  and  by  6.30  fm.  on  the  27th  the  Kussian 
cavalry  was  driven  back,  one  party  moving  due  nortii 
towards  Heikoutai.     There    was    bayonet  work   ni  i 
Somaho  this  day.     During  the  night  of  the  27-28tli, 
the  Eighth  Division  attacked  and  took  the  line  lauokyo- 
Somaho.     Meanwhile   the  Russians  had  been  expelled 
firom  Liujoko  by  the  Fifth  Division.     At  Gokaahi,  tvr€ 

*  A  regimental  officer  said  to  me,  "  I  can  tell  yoa  though,  it  wm 
not  onlythe  Second  DiviaioQ  who  were  clever.  The  Oavaky  Bi^gidt 
were  pretty  aharp^  too,  I  can  tell  you.  When  their  eight  aqoadran 
were  opposed  hy  twenty  Russian  squadrons,  they  formed  shiaII 
columns,  which  advanced^  pretending  to  be  the  guna  of  hattmiw 
Each  little  column  dug  a  little  gun-pit,  and  so  the  stupid  oU 
Bussiaiis  spent  four  hours  firing  shell  at  what  they  thought  was  our 
splendid  horse 


Fuji  Veils  Hbb  Face  857 

and  a  half  miles  south-west  of  Heikaotai,  the  Second 
Division  had  driven  out  the  enemy  after  heavy  fighting. 
But  at  Heikoutai  the  Bussians  fought  like  heroes. 
The  Eighth    Division  made  some  fine  attacks  upon 
them   on   the  28th,  but   were   each   time  repulsed, 
mainly  by  the   fire   of  the   Russian  machine  gims. 
Had  our  Division  been  less  reliable  than  the  Eighth, 
which,  as  you  know,  is  recruited  from  the  north-east 
of  Japan,  perhaps  the  affair  might  not  have  ended 
quite  so  well  for  us.*     Curiously,  the  Kobi  Brigade, 
attached  to  the  Eighth  Division,  were  also  from  the 
north-east,  so  the  Russians  at  Heikoutai  were  in  bad 
luck.     Tatsumi  gave  orders  for  a  final  attack  at  day- 
light  on   the   29th,   but  during   the   night   Okami's 
Brigade  advanced  from  Somaho  on  Heikoutai,  on  its 
own  initiative,  and  was  repulsed  badly.      The  other 
Brigade  attacked  as  ordered  at  5.30  a.m.  and  found 
the  Russians  in  the  act  of  retiring,  t     You  will  under- 

*  A  previous  footnote  throws  a  sidelight  on  this  statement.  I 
think  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Eighth  Division  exposed  themselves 
more  than  was  strictly  necessary.  The  31st  Regiment  was  literally 
cut  to  pieces,  so  I  was  told,  only  a  few  private  soldiers  remaining. 

t  From  yet  another  unofficial  source  I  hear  that  the  cavalry 
suffered  much  from  want  of  instructions,  and  that  they  claim  that 
they  might  have  brought  off  a  big  stroke  had  they  any  dear  idea  of 
the  general  situation.  Thus  they  were  deeply  disappointed.  I 
believe  that  one  cause  of  the  lack  of  orders  was  that  every  message 
to  each  Brigade  and  Division  had  to  pass  through  one  telephone 
station,  run  by  a  single  half -frozen  poor  devil  of  a  private  soldier. 

The  cold  was  intense.  Horsemen  galloped  about  the  held  with  the 
foam  and  dripping  sweat  of  their  horses  changing  into  a  crust  like 
snow,  and  long  dangling  icicles.  The  Fifth  Division  had  during  the 
last  night  but  one  fairly  to  choose  between  frost  and  fire.  They 
were  seventy  yards  distant  from  the  Russians  in  Liujoko.  When 
they  stamped  their  feet  to  keep  life  in  them  then  the  Russians  fired. 
When  they  remained  quiet  they  lost  their  toes.  Four  hundred  of 
them  were  suffering  from  Tesho  (frost-bite)  next  morning. 


^^T-^55S9a»B??r5S?5955S55^B^ 


^ 


858  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

stand  that  this  acoouDt  is  necessarily  confused,  as  rt 
have  not  yet  received  our  full  reports. 

Once  more,  we  cannot  imagine  why  Kuropatkin  & 
not  time  his  attack  before  the  arrival  of  the  Thiic 
Army  from  Port  Arthur.  Nor  do  we  understand  why, 
when  he  did  make  it,  he  did  not  support  it  by  at  le&^ 
a  demonstration  all  along  our  front.  Had  he  done  so, 
we  could  not  have  spared  so  mai^y  troops  to  detach  tc 
our  left,  and  the  attack  would  have  had  a  much  heti& 
chance.  It  is  quite  true  that  General  Kuroki  had 
promised  Marquis  Oyama  to  spare  him  the  Secoiid 
Division,  provided  the  First  Army  stuck  to  its  on 
lines  and  was  not  launched  at  the  Bussian  lines  ib 
front  of  it.  Still,  had  Kuropatkin  been  lively  sni 
active  along  our  position,  there  might  have  been  80ffi« 
delay  in  parting  with  the  Second  Division,  and  even 
so  it  might  have  been  shorn  of  a  battalion  or  two. 
instead  of  going  as  it  did  absolutely  complete. 

Here  ends  the  sli^fht  sketch  of  the  action  of  Heii^ 
ta^'  given  me  at  Headquarters  just  as  a  parting  giR  ^^^ 
take  home  with  me. 

Coal  Mines,  Feh^uany  1st,  1905. — General  Mateo- 
naga  came  to  see  me  this  morning,  en  route  to  take  iip 
his  new  post  as  Chief  of  the  Staff  to  General  Nogi  ^ 
the  Third  Army.  He  is  a  tremendous  fellow,  bum 
like  the  Dutch  captain  of  a  fishing  smack,  bluff,  ^^^J 
and  broad-chested,  with  bluff,  gruff,  hearty  manned 
to  correspond. 

Matsunaga  said  he  hoped  in  his  new  capacity  ^ 
Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Third  Army,  he  would  soon  have 
the  honour  of  welcoming  me  to  Mukden.  I  repb^ 
that  he  had  thrown  off  his  First  Army  esprit  de  corf 
very  quickly  if  he  already,  before  he  had  left  our  fines. 
spoke  of  the  Third  Army  welcoming  the  First  Annj 
men  to  Mukden.     I  said,  "  On  the  contrary,  by  **^ 


{Bo. 


I  Goikwlri 

\  V      / 


I 


z^**.. 


I    HakkncbiM 


Sec 


Lo 


^ 


Fuji  Veils  Her  Face  359 

good  help  of  your  old  brigade,  I  shall  have  the  honour 
of  welcoming  you  and  his  Excellency  General  Nogi 
to  Mukden ! " 

And  so  we  parted  ;  but,  alas,  I  knew  I  would  never 
see  Mukden. 

Coal  Mines,  Fehrua/ry  5th,  1905. — My  days 
with  the  Japanese  Army  are  swiftly  running  to  a 
close.  A  banquet  was  given  by  Kuroki  in  my 
honour  to-day,  and  a  very  large  number  of  officers 
were  present. 

Kuroki  spoke  for  six  minutes.  He  said  I  had  been 
with  the  army  since  Korean  days,  and  that  he  and  all 
his  officers  had  hoped  I  would  remain  with  them  until 
the  very  end.  Now,  however,  I  had  been  offered  a  high 
command,  and  their  sorrow  at  losing  me  was  tempered 
by  pleasure  that  I  had  gained  the  approbation  of  the 
King  of  England.  The  First  Army  hoped  I  would 
remember  them  and  the  hardships  and  battles  of  the 
year  that  was  past,  and  from  the  First  Army  he  would 
assure  me  with  all  his  heart  that  the  British  general 
would  not  lightly  or  soon  be  forgotten. 

I  felt'  almost  overcome  when  I  rose  to  reply.  I  said 
the  King  of  England,  in  giving  me  my  appointment, 
had  probably  been  influenced  by  knowing  I  had  enjoyed 
exceptional  opportunities  of  studying  my  profession 
with  the  First  Army.  For  it  was  first  not  only  in  its 
numeral.  It  had  fought  the  first  battle,  first  entered 
Manchuria,  first  crossed  the  Taitsuho.  Would  have 
been  first  to  cross  the  Shaho  had  that  been  permitted, 
and  I  would  wager  it  would  be  first  into  Mukden. 
Thus,  although  his  Excellency  and  his  army  were  so 
modest  that  they  did  not  know  it,  they  were  now  the 
most  popular  military  force  in  the  world.  If  any  of 
them  went  to  London  or  New  York  they  would  be 
surprised  at  the  warmth  of  their  welcome.     The  only 


860  A  Staff  Officbb's  Scrap-Book 

place  in  the  world  where  they  would  henceforth  be 
disliked  was  on  Salisbury  Plidn,  for  the  troops  ihm 
would  so  often  hear  of  the  virtues  of  the  First  Army 
that  they  would  wish  his  Excellency  General  Earoki 
had  never  been  bom.  I  wound  up,  as  &t  as  I  can 
remember,  by  inviting  the  whole  42,000  to  come  and 
stay  with  me  in  England  for  as  long  as  ever  they 
liked. 

It  was  very  characteristic  of  Japanese  tact  and 
politeness  that,  when  it  came  to  the  turn  of  the  inter- 
preter to  translate  my  remarks,  he  should  have  added 
to  the  towns  of  London  and  New  York  which  I  had 
actually  mentioned,  the  names  of  Paris,  Berlin,  Yienna) 
Bome  and  Stockholm  which  I  had  forgotten  myself  to 
include. 

After  lunch  a  friend  on  the  Staff  told  me  that 
Grippenberg  was  being  blamed  in  Russia  for  ha^ 
lost  10,000  men  in  the  last  battle  at  HeikoutaL  He 
said  it  was  mistaken  policy  to  punish  a  genMi 
because  he  had  failed  or  because  he  had  lost  a  lot  of 
men.  Such  action  checked  initiative,  which  was  of 
all  qualities  the  most  valuable  of  military  asseta  A 
general  then  began  to  think  it  might  be  more  politic 
to  keep  his  army  well  together,  and  to  venture  lit*^ 
I  agree.  I  remember  that  extraordinarily  clever  young 
man,  Greneral  Smuts,  saying  much  the  same  to  me  ui 
Pretoria,  and  explaining  to  me  that  it  was  the  croci- 
fixion  of  ^heir  defeated  generals  by  the  Carthagimanfi 
which  lost  them  the  Punic  Wars. 

After  taking  leave  of  the  Headquarters,  very  sadly, 
I  have  come  back  here,  where  I  am  to  be  honoured  of 
another  farewell  banquet  to-night.  The  cook  has  been 
forty-eight  hours  preparing  the  dinner,  so  it  ought  to  W 
something  tremendous. 


Fuji  Veils  Her  Face  361 

In  the  Tbain,  Fehru€mf  6«A,  1905. — ^The  leave- 
taking  is  over.  It  was  a  painful  wrench  to  tear  myself 
away  on  the  eve  of  a  great  battle  from  so  many  kind 
friends  ;  but  it  is  over,  and  now  as  is  always  the  case, 
the  future  again  begins  to  spread  itself  alluringly 
before  me. 

The  dinner  last  night  was  superb,  and  my  American 
confrhre  made  a  very  sympathetic  oration,  to  which  I 
replied  as  best  I  might.  This  morning,  at  9. 30,  with 
a  blizzard  blowing  and  the  thermometer  five  degrees 
below  zero  F.,  I  was  just  starting  when  Kuroki  and 
the  whole  of  his  Headquarters  Staff  rode  in  from 
Hanlasanshi,  three  miles  distant,  to  drink  a  last  stirrup 
cup  with  me  before  I  left.  Mugs  were  filled  with 
champagne,  and  I  confess  that  after  the  big  dinner 
the  previous  night  I  was  for  shirking  some  of  mine. 
Then,  to  my  shame,  I  saw  that  Kuroki,  who  is  nearly 
ten  years  my  senior,  had  drained  his  to  the  last  drop. 
I  seized  the  mug  once  more  and  so  began  the  day 
badly,  although  in  what  the  Japanese  are  fond  of 
calling  high  spirits.  Deeply  touched  at  the  kindness 
shown,  in  my  person,  to  my  country  by  the  gallant 
and  glorious  First  Army  of  Japan,  I  set  spurs  to 
my  horse  and  rode  through  the  blizzard  twelve 
miles  to  the  headquarters  of  Marshal  the  Marquis 
Oyama. 

I  lunched  with  his  Excellency  and  with  Greneral 
Eodama,  when  I  drank  more  champagne  and  also  some 
claret,  Mouton  Rothschild,  a  special  present  from  hie 
Majesty  the  Emperor.  Oyama  and  Eodama  were  in 
excellent  spirits,  and  were  having  great  chaff  and  fun. 
His  Excellency  said  that  the  American  newspapers,  who 
"must  manufacture  sensations  if  they  cannot  get 
them  any  other  way,"  had  published  some  news  in 


362  A  Staff  Officer's  Scrap-Book 

leaded  type  about  Kodama  and  himself.  It  was  said 
that  they  had  quarrelled  violently,  with  the  result  that 
the  Chief  of  the  General  Staff  had  come  off  second 
best,  and  had  been  deported  from  the  seat  of  war  to 
Japan.  Both  laughed  heartily,  and  seemed  hugely 
amused.  I  was  hoping  to  hear  something  more  about 
Heikoutai,  but  rich  as  was  the  feast  upon  the  table 
of  the  generals,  not  even  one  crumb  of  news  fell  from 
their  mouths  into  my  hungry  note-book. 

After  lunch  I  was  greatly  concerned  to  learn  that 
the  old  Commander-in-Chief  was  going  to  mount  his 
horse  and  ride  down  to  the  station  with  me,  a  distance 
of  two  miles.     He  rarely  goes   out  riding   in  such 
weather,  and  the  blizzard  to-day  was  blowing  with 
special  bitterness.     However,   he   would  do   it,   and 
General  Kodama  and  the  rest  of  the  Manchurian  Army 
Headquarters  Staff  accompanied  him.     His  Excellency 
rode  a  handsome,  corky  little  horse,  the  best-looking 
Japanese-bred  charger  I  have  seen.  He  told  me  his  hoise, 
that  he  had  ridden  aU  through  the  war  with  China  ten 
years  ago,  was  still  alive  and  well  in  Japan.     He  had 
made  a  promise  to  it  that,  if  it  carried  him  through  the 
campaign,  it  should  enjoy  free  quarters  for  the  rest  of 
its  life.   He  said  it  was  treacherous  and  ungentlemanly 
to  the  last  degree  to  promise  an  animal  anything  and 
then  to  break  the  plighted  word — ^far  worse  than  to 
show  similar  treachery  to  a  man,  for  a  man  can  speak 
and  claim  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  an  animal  cannot 
I  told  his  Excellency  I  had  a  little  Australian  horse 
called  Black  Monday,  who  had  been  ridden  by  me  in 
the  Tirah   Campaign  of  1896-97,  and  again  in  the 
siege  of  Ladysmith,  and  all  through  the  South  African 
War.     I  told  him  also  about  Lord  Roberts'  famous 
white  Arab  charger  Volonel,  and  of  how  the  Queen 
had  given  it  war  medals  on  its  breast-plate.     The 


^ 


Fuji  Vbils  Her  Face  363 

CJommander-in- Chief  was  much  interoBted,  and  I 
think  he  would  like  his  own  charger  also  to  be 
decorated. 

When  we  reached  the  station  we  had  twenty 
minutes  to  wait  in  a  cold  of  which,  fortunately  for 
them,  few  in  England  have  the  smallest  conception* 

At  last  I  was  oflf,  and  I  hope  I  may  never  forget  the 
great  honour  done  to  the  British  Army  by  the  Marquis 
Oyama  on  this  occasion. 

Yellow  Sea,  Februomf  9th,  1905. — I  am  in  a  fine 
ship  by  Harland  and  Wolff,  of  about  6000  tons.  We 
have  1000  prisoners  on  board,  under  charge  of  a 
Japanese  corporal  and  twelve  men.  There  are  no 
officers  amongst  the  Bussians;  and  the  men  do  not  at  all 
know  what  to  make  of  my  uniform. 

The  Japanese  treat  them  most  considerately  and 
kindly.  No  assumption  of  superiority  or  swagger  of  any 
sort.  The  Bussians,  for  their  part,  are  obedient ;  indeed, 
they  seem  astonishingly  docile  and  easily  managed,  in 
comparison  with  Anglo-Saxons.  There  are  300  sailors 
amongst  the  crowd,  who  strike  me  as  being  far  and 
away  above  the  standard  of  the  soldiers  in  physique, 
bearing,  alertness  and  intelligence.  Some  of  the 
prisoners  are  playing  the  concertina.  Others  are 
dancing.  They  are  excellently  and  warmly  clad,  and 
have  lots  of  flesh  on  their  bones.  Very  different  is 
their  condition  from  that  of  our  poor  fellows  after 
Ladysmith. 

Yokohama  Bay,  Fehnuxry  ISth,  1905. — ^We  steamed 
to  our  mooriDgs  at  dawn,  just  as  we  did  eleven  months 
ago.  Again  the  sun  rose  red  in  our  wake  through  the 
misty  haze  which  bounds  the  far  horizon;  but  Fujiyama, 
alas !  made  no  answering  sign  from  the  depths  of  the 
western  sky.  And  as  the  great  mountain  concealed 
its  wonders  behind  the  shroud  of  cold,  unpenetrable 


364  A  Staff  Officer's  Scbap-Book 

doud,  BO,  too,  my  heart  remained  dead  and  unrespon- 
sive to  the  charm  of  the  hour  and  of  ihe  place. 

Last  year  my  life  was  about  to  escape  fix>m  War 
Office  and  other  matter-of-&ct  duties  into  a  mysterious 
realm  of  adventure  and  romance.  To-day  my  course  is 
run ;  my  adventures  are  achieved,  and  instinctively  I 
attune  my  mood  to  a  more  prosaic  key  before  exchangiflg 
my  khaki  and  my  sword  for  the  costume  and  cane  of 
a  conmionplace  civilisation. 

Thus  the  grey  chameleon,  captive  in  some  grimy  dty, 
cares  no  more  to  wear  the  livery  of  the  forest  through 
whose  foliage  it  once  passed  like  a  living  emerald. 

An  officer  bearing  complimentary  messages  has 
come  out  in  a  launch  to  take  me  ashore.  The  moment 
is  at  hand.  But  ere  the  old  life  quite  resumes  its  sway, 
let  me  try  in  one  rapid  retrospect  to  realise  the  days 
and  nights  that  are  no  more  : 

My  peony  garden  in  Fenghuangcheng  bathed  in  the 
soft  moonlight ;  the  Heaven-reaching  Pass,  reverberat- 
ing through  all  its  hollows  and  ridges  to  the  continued 
roll  of  musketry ;  the  wall  of  mist  and  the  writing  that 
appeared  thereon  ;  the  Swallows'-nest  Fort  and  bloody 
Rice-cake  Hill ;  the  heroic  bayonet  fight  on  Okasaki 
Tama'sbrow ;  the  rapid  march ;  the  manoeuvre ;  thefieroe 
attack ;  the  stubborn  defence  ;   the  red  battle  and  the 
crowd  of  pale  corpses.  Again  I  seem  to  see  the  advance 
of  the  invincible  First  Army  ;  the  dense  ranks  toiling 
on,  ever  onwards,  towards  the  shrieking  shell  and  angi7 
hiss  of  the  rifle  bullets.     No  drums  or  bugles  cheer  the 
march   of  the  phantom  army  of  my  thoughts,  bat 
ever  the  rumble  and  roar  of  the  cannon  fills  each 
soldier's  heart  with  exultation  as  the  colmnns  draw 
nearer  and  yet  nearer  to  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death. 


INDEX 


NOTX.— Wlioe  the  jear  is  not  given  in  a  date,  1904  is  refeimd  ttx 


Abtsbinu,  problem  o(  L  6 
A%haii  War,  1879,  parallels,  i.  371 » 

iL  322-3  ^^^f  246  naU 
A^haniatan,  problem  01,  L  6 
Africa,  Soath  {su  also  South  Africa), 

native  qaeetion  in,  i  6 
Aiho  river,  affluent  of  the  Yala, 
Kashtalinsky's  entrench- 
ments near,  i.  82.  ill-con- 
cealed, 87;  part  played  by 
inYalu  fight,  92  et  seq,, 
crossing  o^  by  Japanese 
Z2th  division,  1 14-5 
Aiyanmen,    opposing    forces    at 

(June  15-19)1  i.  i82-93» 
Russian  advance  on,  199 

Aiyanmen-Saimachi-ChaotaoVal- 
ley,  described,  in  relation 
to  Chaotao  engagement, 
i.  286-7 

Alezieff,  Admiral,  and  the  Yalu 
fight,  i.  82 ;  flight  of,  from 
Port  Arthur,  161 

America,  effects  of  on  the  Japanese, 
ii.  29  $t  seq. 

American    Civil   War,    Artillery 

tactics  in,  i.  228,  civilian 

strategy  in,   results    ol^ 

^         z8o-z;  parallels,  322,  iL 

117 

Amping,  i,  308,  309,  318,  3x9, 
Russian  move  towards 
(Jy.  22),  284 ;  Russian  re- 
treat to  (Aug.  26),  ii.  42, 

59-3>   ^  61  f  Japanese 
Headquarters    at   (Aug. 
30),  80 
Anja,  t  56,  ^fortifications  and 
garrison  o(  Russian  attack 

©Of  35-9 


Anshantien,L  308;  Russian  evacua- 
tion of  (Aug.  26),  iL  65 

Antnng,  L  119,  135,  186,  country 
near,  58;  relative  posi- 
tions at  (May  i2),62,  naval 
importance  of  in  regard  to 
Yalu  battle,  87,  133 

Antnng — Fenghuangcheng  tram- 
way, L  187 

Appointments^  importanceof  selec- 
tion K>r,  iL  3x8 

Artillery,  Japanese,  L  ixo^  173 ; 
poor  horsing  o^  188,  234, 
u.  X28, 241 ;  Japanese  com- 
ments on  (Oct.  12),  224-6, 
author's  remarks^  241-3 
Japanese  and  Russian  as  em- 
ployed in  various  battles, 
L  io6-xo^  X2I,  130,  256, 
269, 275-6, 289, 291-0,305, 

324,  332,  349,  ii  38,  40-1, 
52, 94,  X82-4, 188-9,  aox-2, 
226 
Russian,  remarks  on  tactics  o^ 
L  121, 126-30 
Asada,  Major- Gmiend,  command- 
ing advance  guard  ist 
Japanese  army,  at  the 
Yalu  fight,  L  82,  84  ap- 
pearance o^  Z46;  at  Yo- 
shirei,  323 ;  command- 
ing 1st  Brigade  Guards 
Battle  of  26  Aug.,  ii. 
44»  549  5^  commanding 
Guards  Division,  Oct.  11, 
•64,  ii.  195,  ai9>  Oct.  13, 

247 
Askoldy  Baymn^   and    C$Mr$wtkk 

Russian  warshifM^  escape 

of,  to  Kiaochau,  iL  9 


866 


Index 


Attack,  poor,  of  Rasslan  soldiers, 

i.  a57t  ^59.  366^  378 
Aug.  31  to  Sep.  2.  summary  of 
Japanese  prooeediogs^  iL 
Z2a  #/  seq. 

Baba^  Cokmel,  commanding  30th 
Regt  ist  Japanese  ^^y 
i.  233,  at  Motienling  skir- 
miui  (Jy.  4),  23a  at  the 
Battle  of  Motienling  Qy. 
z8),  267,  at  Manjoyama, 
U.  103.  115 

Bajisan,  taken  by  Japanese  Guards 

(Oct  13X  ii;  a47 

Balaschiefl^  General,  Director  of 
the  Red  Cross,  Port 
Arthur,  iL  317 

Balloons  in,  warfare,  drawbacks  to, 
i.  310  341 

Baltio  (Rossian)  fleet,  and  the 
Dogger  Bank  a£fidr,  a 
garued  report,  ii  280-1 

Band-playing,  daring  Russian 
night  attack,  Chaotao,  L 
290 

Barstow,  Captain,  Chinampo,  i.  53 

Battle  of  the  26th  of  August 
(battle  of  Liaoyang),  Jap- 
anese positions  before,  ii. 
34,  dunng  3^,  69  and  after, 
71 ;  official  intormation 
on,  64  et  seq. ;  author's 
visit  to  scene  o^  and  com- 
ments^ 72  $t  seq. 

Battalions,  number  of^  to  a  regi- 
ment, Japanese  and  Rus- 
sian, i.  276 

Bayonets,  Russian,  badness  o^ 
ii.  261,  278,  unwise  use 
o^  i.  235,  238,  ii.  231-2, 
252^ 

Beri-beri  in  the  ist  Japanese  Army, 
i.  302 

Boers,   Japanese,   and    Russians 

{see  also  S.  African  War), 

comparisons   between,  i. 

5,  6,  43,  59,  85,  105,  113, 

ia7,  "8,  347,  ^'  254 
Bonchio  Gap,  battle  of  Telissu,  ii. 


337,  342r3 
id 


«  Box  and  Cox  "  Cave,  Coal  Mines, 

ii.  292-3 
Br>dge-making,    Japanese,    Yalu 

battle,  i.  99-100 


British  Artillery  tactics,  S.  Aficican 
war,  i.  129 
attach6s^   difficulties    o^    with 
the  First  Japanese  Army, 
L    177^    smoothed     by 
General  Fajiiy  180-3 
Indian   and  Japanese    troops 
compared    L    8-ia^    ag^ 
329—30 
N.C.O.S,  compared  with  Rus- 
sian, i.  302-3 

Buddhist  ceremony  at  Feast  of  the 
Dead,  i.  198-9 

Buddhist  Sermon,  a,  ii.  145-7 

Bulwana,  a  parallel,  ii.  136 

BunsuireL  Russian  forces  at,  L 1851 
their  withdrawal  frcaa, 
321  &  noU^  222,  defences 
viewed  by  author,  241-3 

Burial  of  Russian  dead  by  Japan- 
ese, i.  264 

Burma,  road-making  in,  L  246 

Bushido — and  after  ?,  ii.  17  «#  sif . 

Calmness,  the  essential  in  a  Japa- 
nese   Conunander,     Ko- 
roki's  possession  thereof 
instances  of,  i.  313,  ii.  42, 
43,  205, 208,  257 
''  Caste"  in  England,  i.  38 
Cavalry,  a  good  country  for,  L  191 
Ji^anese,   equipment    o^    iL 
278-H9;  rifle-efficiency  oi, 
Motienling  battle,  L  273; 
at    Heikoutai,  ii.  356  & 
note ;  at  Liaoyang  battle, 
153  &  n&U ;  brilliant  sue- 
cess  o^  at  Pencluho,  a^ 
238-40;    at    the    Shabo 
fight,    183;    at   Tdissn, 

339 

Japanese  and  Russian,  dis- 
mounted at  the  battle  of 
Motienling,  i.  256;  inac- 
tion of,  Yalu  fight,  X31 

Russian,     author's      theories 
borne  out  by,  i.  191 
threatening  to  communica- 
tions, i.  134  ^  seq,^  319 
at  Terayama,  inaction  o( 
ii.  215-6 
Chang  Song,  Sasaki's  £dnt  at,  i. 
87 ;  base  of  12th  division 
(July    15),    252  ;  during 
Chaotao  battle,  292 


Index 


367 


Cbaotao,  Russian  positions  at,  !• 
224,  230  (Jy.  17  «<  «««.)♦ 
286  e^  seq, ;  engagement 
at  (Jy.  19),  257 ;  Jardine's 
report  on,  281,  General 
Fujii's  talk  about  282-5, 
details  of,  285  et  seq,,  318 ; 
Inouye*s  subsequent 

doings  339-40  etseq,;  bril- 
liant relief  of,  by  Prince 
Kanin's  cavalry  (Oct.  11, 
12),  ii.  236,  238 

Chemulpho,  i.  50;  Russian  naval 
wrecks  at,  47 

China,  results  of  anti-militarism 
in,  1.  14 

Chionampo  Harbour,  L  47-8,  dis- 
embarkation in,  of  Jap- 
anese Imperial    Guards, 

5«-5 
Chinchaputsu  village,  in  relation  to 

Yoshirei  battle,  1. 316, 317, 

325-7 ;  in  relation  to  the 

battle  of  the  26th  Aug.,  IL 

33 
Chinchaputsu    to   Liao^ang    viA 

Yoshirei,    Russian    posi- 
tions designed  to  block, 
L  315  ei  seq. 
Chinese,  the,  as  material  for  sol- 
diers, ii  303,  and  officers, 

303-4 
coolies,  drawbacks  to,  in  war, 

i.  244,  pay  of,  2^5 

fight  near  mountains,  1. 131, 151, 
ii.  171 

houses  in  Manchuria, 
the  decorations,  i  215 
the   '^kong"   in,   and   the 
insects,  i.  214 

natives  of  Manchuria,  charac- 
teristics o£  i.  165-9 

troops  at  Fenghuangcheng,  i. 

163-4 
unlikeness  o^  to  Japanese,  facial 

and  mental,  ii.  289,  304 
view  of  Japanese  and  Russian 

occupationsi  ii  158,  160, 

168 
view  of  Russians,  ii.  294 
Chintanpu,  Japanese  post,  battle 

of    Heikoutal^     Russian 

losses,  ii.  356 
Chipanling,  in  relation  to  battle 

ol  Aug.  26,  ii.  51,  56 


Chiuliencbeng,  Russian  positions 
at,  before,  during  and  after 
Yalu  fight,  i.  72,  78,  105, 
118,  126;  earned  by  the 
Japanese,  1x4 

Chiuliencbeng  —  Sheechong  line, 
Rusafan  left,  pomt  of 
Japanese  attack,  Yalu 
fight,  i.  95 

Chongchun  river,  near  Anju,i.  137 

Chosenrei,  Pass,  Matsunaga*s  at- 
tempttoreach(Octi2-i3), 
ii.  246-7  &  noUs 

Chouyuang,  Japanese  and  Russian 
troops  facing,  at,  i.  186 

Christmas  Day  in  the  Japanese 
Camp,  Yentai  Coal  Mines, 
Namakura's  speech,  ii 
296-8,  the  author's  rhyme 
for,  299 

Chukodai  village,  on  the  Yalu,  L 

gi,    in   relation   to   the 
attle,  109,  III 
Chulsan,  post  o^  i.  79 
Chusan,   withdrawsd   of  Russian 
forces  from  (June  '04),  1. 

221 

Civilisation  and  military  virtue,  i. 

5,  et  seq,  12 
Coal  Mines,  5^«  Yentai  Coal  Mines 
Cocksureness,  risks  of,  i.  227 
Colenso,  a  parallel,  i.  279 
Colonial  troops,  dislike  o^  to  spade 

work,  i.  175-^ 
Commanders,  Japanese  ideal  of^ 

ii.  12   fit  ssq.;    qualities 

deemed  requisite  by  the 

author,  15 
Companies,  strength  o(  Russian 

and  Japanese,  i.  315 
Confucianism    and    progress,    a 

Japanese    dictum   on,  U 

200 
Conscription,  in  Japan,  i.  10,  156^    f 

244,  ii.  10,  II  ' 

Coolies,  see  Chinese  and  Militarjrifo. 
Conservatism,  value  of,  Kuroki  on. 

W-35I 
Cossack  troops,  i.  71-2, 136-9, 159 

Crossing  oy,  of  Taitsuho,  U, 

236,  238 
deficiencies  of,  i.  59,  166 
failure  of,  Lentowan,  discussed, 

ii.  136 
Fukushima's  views  on^  L  33 


868 


Index 


Coontryincii  v^nus  towosmen  as 
aoldien,  i.  5, 6-8,  Japanese 
views,  9a5--6,  ii.  276,  en- 
dorsed by  the  author,  377 

Courage,  Japanese  and  British,  li. 
35-6 

Cover,  Russian  disregard  of,  i.  271, 
li.  157,  301-S,  and  the 
need  for,  130*1 

Crowder,  Colonel,  U.S. A.,  L  46 

DaiBOSRi— Joshisan,  Russian  posi- 
tion at  Telissn,  i.  194 

Daidoko,  fight  of  the  i6th  Japanese 
Regt.  m  rouU  to,  i.  262-3 

Daisan  (in  Shaho  battle),  iL  184, 
exciting  climb  up  272-5 

Dalny,  landing  of  Oyama  and 
Kodama  at  (Jy.  15),  L  248 

Demidrovitch,  Lieutenant,  12th 
Russian  Regiment,  L  85 

Demonstrations  in  force,  a  note 
on,  i.  279 

Disembarkation  methods  at  Chin- 
nampo,  i.  53-5 

Dogger  Bank  affair,  ^uzsling  news 
received  of,  li.  280-1 

Domonshi,  hills  near,  objective  of 
Guards  (Oct.  13),  ii.  247, 
457,  the  attack,  258 

Domonshi — Shotatsuko  line,  Kuro- 
ki's  intention  to  take  (Oct. 
II,  evening),  ii.  210 

Doomkop,  a  parallel,  iL  201,  202 

Dum-Dum  bullets,  alleged  use  of, 
bv  Russians,  ii.  2 

Dundee  (S.  Africa),  British  action 
concerning,  and  the  Rus- 
sian Yalu  parallel,  L  80^1 

Education,  Japanese  and  EngHsh 

compared,  i.  12,  15, 17, 18 
in  the  Japanese  Army,  U.  9, 10 
Edward  VII.,  King,  bhlhda^r  of, 

Japanese  congratulations, 

dDc.  on,  ii  286-9 
Eighth  Division  at  Heikoutai,  ii 

354  &  naU,  357  f  naU 
Elandslaagte,  a  parallel,  ii.  202 
En^^and,    attitude    of    Japanese 

military  men  towards,  i. 

177 ;  how  to  modify  this, 

in  a  Japanese  allegorical  play, 
L  157-8 


Entrenchments,      Japanese 

Russian    {see    aiso    Spade 
work),  i.  a82,  a»7,  351,  n. 

47.  89.  33«.  335 
European  Russian  troops,  afleged 

superiority  o^  i.  257,  9B2. 

301,  an  error,  corrected. 

302-3,how  occasioned,  303 

Fan,  the,  in  the  firing-line^  i.  336 

Fenghuangcheng,  L  121,  162, 
Headquarters  Japanese 
First  Army,  64,  66  «e  sif  . 
207,  210;  oatposts  at, 
179-3 ;  Japanese  positian 
at,  after  Yala  figrnt  (June 
15)1  187;  Japanese  fonses 
at  (Jy.  22),  284 

Fenshan,  li&  at,  Sept.  7  to  Oct.  9b 
ii.  141-170 

Firing,  bad,  of  the  Rossiana^  L  zi2- 

"5»  a56,  266,  278,  jL  78, 

104,  \o^ets$q^  iio-ii,  186 

volley,  of  the  same,  i.  1x2,256, 

266,  271,  278,  313 
independent,  of  the  Japanese^ 
L  271-2,  311 

First  engagements,  cmdal  cha- 
racter of^  L  74 

Flags  in  battle,  inspiring  efiect  ol^ 
ii  50, 213  iwU^  233-4,  «50 

Flexibility,  Russian  lack  oi,  L  257, 

259 
Formations,  European  and  Japan- 
ese, relative  importance 
o^  ii.  280 

Japanese,  on  vazioos  occa- 
sions, i.  271, 282,  ii.  2os-^ 
212  &  ncU^  227,  229  meU^ 
301 

Russian,  solid  or  close,  L  271, 
277,  278,  ii.  184 
Formosa,  under  General  g<wiam^ 

i  «9.  30 

Fortifications,  value  o£^  imprsssks 
as  to,  left  by  Port  Arthur, 
11.3x0-11,  Nogi's  view,  311 

Franco- Prussian  War,  French  Ar- 
tillery tactics  in,  L  129 ;  a 
Manchurian  parallel,  133 

Fredericksburg,  parauei,  L  95,  o. 
117 

French-trained  officers  in  the  Ja* 
panose  Army,Li49^  ii-  S9ii 
307 


Index 


869 


*«  Friends  at  Court"  In  Japan, 
drawbacks  of,  L  I7i 

Frontal  attack,  instances  of,  i.  256, 
314,  318,   comment    on, 

FroeschwiUer,  village  of,  the  key  to 
the  position,  Battle  of 
Woerth,  i.  94 

Fuji  Yama,  i.  i,  3,  4 

Fujiit  Major-General  S.,  Chief  of 
Staff  First  Army  of  Japan, 
i.  67,  68,  t6i,  211, 334, 289, 
310;  smooths  British  at- 
tach6*s  difficulties,  180-3, 
189;  cleverness  and  tact 
in  giving  information,  232- 
3 ;  hospitality  of,  31^1;  on 
the  situation  on  July  5, 
231-2 ;  on  the  military 
situation  after  the  Yalu 
fight, 1 83  ei  seq,^  he  invites 
(and  receives)  criticisms, 
188-9;  niore  news  on  the 
above,  199 ;  on  the  position 
of  the  Japanese  forces  (Jy. 
I5)t  247  ei  seq,  \  on  the 
situation  after  Motienling 
and  Chaotao,  282  ei  seq,; 
on  the  relative  quality  of 
European  and  Siberian- 
Russian  troop8,^02 ;  on  the 
strategical  considerations 
before  Yoshirei  battle,  319, 
and  on  that  fight,  334-6, 

358 
Fukuda,  Major,  head  of  Operations 

Section,    First  Japanese 

Army,  L  148,  212,  310 

Fukushima,  M ajor-General  Sir  Y., 
K.C.B.,  Chief  of  Second 
Section  General  Staff  of 
First  Japanese  Army,  i. 
20 ;  his  fsunous  ride,  30- x ; 
his  attitude  to  the  foreign 
attaches,  etc.,  32-3;  his 
views  on  Indian  and  Cos- 
sack troops,  33-4 ;  his  lin- 
guistic gifts,  35  ;  the  loss 
of  his  son,  ii.  143 

Fusan,  i.  ^o 

Fusan— Liaoyang  militaryrailway, 
L188 

Gabuoro  Valley,  near  Telissu, 
fighting  at,  iL  334  et  $$q. 


Gebato,  object  (assumed)  of  sharp 
fighting  at,  L  276-7 

Gebato  -  to  •  Shinkwaurei  front, 
covered  by  Japanese  2nd 
Division,  battle  of  Motien- 
ling, i.  258 

Geishas,  1.  40-2 

Geographical  nomenclature,  diffi- 
culties of,  on  Korean  fron- 
tier, i.  89 

German  militarism,  much  for 
Britons  to  learn  from,ii.  97 
system  of  extensions,  as  em- 
ployed by  the  Japanese, 
1.  141,  143-5,  author's 
criticisms  on,  188,  Fujii's 
replies,  189 

German-trained  medical  officers 
in  the  Japanese  Army,  i. 

„   149-5.304 
Military  officers  in  the  same, 

i.  148,  177,  21 1-2 

Gemgross,  Major-General,  at  Tel- 
issu, ii.  338-40,  344 

Gerschelman,  Lieutenant-General 
commanding  Russian 
forces  at  Chaotao  (Jy.04), 
i.  288,  294,  retreat  o^  295 
et  seq,y  criticism  on,  299  ei 

Gibraltar,  basis  of  its  value,  ii.  21Z 
Gochosan,  hill,  Russian  outpost, 

U*  93»  fif  hting  near,  107 
Gokarei,Mountain,Kuroki's  stand- 
point (Aug.  26),  ii.  37 
Golden  Hill,  author's  visit  to,ii3i6 
Gravelotte,  a  desired  paraUel,  i.309 
Guppenberg,    General,    and   the 
battle  of  Heikoutal,  Rus- 
sian blame  of,  i.  359 
Gunki  Yama  affair,  gallantry  and 
quick  decision  of  Ota  and 
his  men  at,  iL  232  6*  noUt 
236  6*  note 
Guns,  British  and  Japanese,  out- 
classed by  Russian,  ii.190, 

I93»  195 
Gurkhas,  compared  with  Japanese 
troops,  i.  8-10,  293 

Hagimo,  Colonel,  Chief  of  Intelli- 
gence Section,  First  Jap- 
anese Aimy  i  148,  212, 
characteristics  of,  324 ;  on 
training  of  European  Ru8« 

2  A 


870 


Ikdex 


sian  recruits,  L  50a  ;  his 
dassification  of  the  Rus- 
sian forces  by  qnality ,303 ; 
bis  lectures  on  the  situa- 
tion (Oct  04),  ii  179, 187, 
309 ;  on  the  position  on 
Oct.  12,  209 

Haicheng  region,  Russian  forces 
at  (June  and  Jv.)»  i  186, 
23i,a83--4,their  departure, 
319,  arrival  of  the  4th  Jap- 
anese Army  (Aug.  3),ii.4 

Hmhmi,  the  "  Times  '*  steamer,  i. 

50-52 

Haldane,  Colonel,  at  Liaoyang,  ii. 
142 

Hamaton  rearguard  fight,  i.  63, 73, 
88,  true  account  of,  117  et 
sea.,  map  of,  given  by 
Watanabe,  122 ;  a  parallel, 

260  ^M^. 

Hanchaputsu,  L  317,  Japanese  at- 
taclc  on  (Jy.  31),  322 

Hanlasanshi-Domouflhi  une,  au- 
thor's views  of  its  import- 
ance, ii  266-7 

Harbin,  L  231 

Harbour  or  dockyard,  when  worse 
than  useless  to  fleet,  ii 
310,  Nogi's  view,  311 

Hasegawa,  Lieutenant  -  (General, 
oommandingj  apaneselm- 
perial  Guards,  i.  146,  152, 
307,  atChinchaputsu,  331, 
fi.  6  ;  promoted  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief inKorea, 

Haya  Tan,  Japanese  destroyer,  i.52 

Heaven-reaching  Pass,  Battle  of 
the,  see  Motienling  Pass, 
Battle  of 

Health  of  the  Japanese  Armies,  to 
what  due,,;i.  395,  iL  9 

Heikoutai,  action  of  Qan.  26-9), 
condensed  account  of^  ii. 
3  J 1-2  et  seq.:  Grippenberg 
blamed  for  in  Russia,  360 

Heyentai,  objective  of  Guards 
and  Headquarters  of  ist 
Japanese  Army  (Sep.  4), 
li.  125 

Hikida,  Colonel,  Intelligence  Sec- 
tion, ist  Japanese  Army, 
Laia 


Hiraoka,  Major,  killed  in  adke 

Cbaotao  engagemeat,I^ 

grets  of  the  author,  i  299 
Hlangwane  Hill,  a  parallel,  L 104 
Hodaichosi,  slopes  o(  L 115 
Honda,  Major,  and  his  battalia 

at  Penchiho  (OctxiU 

230-1 
Honkeiko,  Russians  at  (J7.26),t 

308 
H5-6-San,  or   Phoenix  Monntaio. 

i.  189  &noiet  ezcaisioDto, 

205-6,  tigers  OD,  206 
Horses,  of  the  Japanese  ArtiDay. 

inferiority  o^  i.  188, 354. 

ii.  laS  . 

Hoshuho,    objective   of  Gotftis 

(Oct.  14).  ii.  244 
Houtnek,  a  parallel,  L  294 
Howitzers,  at  Port  Arthur,  cBBCt 

o^  iL  159,  271,  3"»3M; 

Russian,  at  Nanshas,  32^ 

at  the  Yaiu,  L  132 
Hsinlitun,  Japanese  advance  to, 

ii.  95 
Hsuehliten,  march  to,  of  First  Ji* 

panese  Army,  i.  210 
Huankubm,  intended  coooeoba- 

tion  of  ist  Japanese  army 

on,  iL  82,  84.  troops  at 

(Aug.  31),  89, 96  ,„... 
Hume,  Lieutenant-ColoneUBntisB 

attach^  with  ist  Japantfc 

Army,L46.i93,att»^^*J 
to  the  Guards,20S,  prcsa^^ 
atYoshirei,326^52fi;sgi 
with  the  Guards,  11.  f 
158,195  iwto,  222, 34a,«»^'' 
rifle  -  shooting  success, 
ii,  293  -^. 

Hunho^  Russian  crossings  of  (Oct 
4),ii.i75(Jan-25.'o5).352 

IiDA,  Lieutenant  -  Cokmd,  Com- 
manding 4th  Regt.  at  tia* 
kashi,Oct.  i7,ii.«o*^; 
at  lida  Yama  (Oct-  '^^ 
258  .. 

Imamoura,  Colonel,  and  the  X4y° 
Japanese  R^.,  '»?^* 
able  detour  march  oy. 
Chaotao  engagcmen^  j 
293-5,  subsequent  «»f* 

by,  295»  «nd  ^  *^ 
297;  oonuneuts  00,^97^ 


~.-x»- 


^ 


^  •  !• 


iW 


■PJUIV 


m^sm^gm 


Index 


371 


Immortality  of  fame,  appeal  oi^  to 
the  Japanese,  1. 197 

Indian  North-west  Frontier,  rear- 
guard fightine  on,  ii.  ^42 

Indian  troops  and  tneir  British 
officers, views  on,  of  Fuka- 
shima,  i.  33-4 
compared  with  British,  %u 
British,  Indian,  and  Jap- 
anese 

Infantry,  u$  Japanese  and  Russian 
do,  passim 

Inonye,  Major-General,  command- 
ing lath  Division,  First 
Japanese  Army,  i.  73, 147, 
IC2,  at  Chaotao  (jy.  19), 

^9  ^f  3x8*  ^^  tactics 
commented  on,  ^01,  339  «< 
seq. ;  at  the  battle  of 
Yoshkei,  3x5 ;  at  the  Tait- 
suho  crossing,  ii.  96 

Insect  pests  in  Mandiuria,  L  214, 
239,  241,  311 

Ishido,  Sergeant- Major,  L  158 

Ishiko,  hill  north  of,  i.  88 

Ito,  Marquis,  President  of  Privy 
Council,  i  19,  22, 23 

Ixaki,  General,  and  the  Guards,  on 
Oct.  IX,  12,  and  13,  ii.  X94, 
223,  247 

JAicBs,Captain,  ontheH0lifMifi,L  52 
apan,  attitude  of^  during  pre-war 
n^otiations,  i.  76-7 
Emperor  of  (Mutsuhito  I.),  i.  37; 
his  birthday  celebrations 
in  Manchuria,  ii.  281 
Empress  of,  her  presents  to  the 
Army,  i.   194;  a  misap- 
plication thereof  195-^ 
Japan,  First  Army  of,  i.  73 

ample  food  and  stores  of,  i.  222 
casualties,   a  bit   of  swagger 

about,  ii.  27X 
at  battle   of  Aug.  26,  ii,  48 
noU 
Chaotao,  i.  290,  299 
Manjuyama,  IL  109 
Motienlini^  battle,  L  264, 275 
Takubokujo,  i.  222-3 
Shaho  (Oct.  12)9  i.  209,  ii. 

213-4, 224 
Yalu,  i.  X15 
cleanliness  of,  i.  223 
Headquarters  Statto^ L  211 


Japan,  First  Army  oi^^eonimued 
operations  of 

before,  during  and  after  Yalu 
fight,  i.  82, 105,  no,  14X-5, 
X83, 184 ;  position  of  (June 
15),  190  etpravif  advance 
of,  203,  (June  22),  204-5 

aune  26-Jy.  2),  210-29, 
les  of  communication, 
official  information  on,  243 
si  seq, ;  positions  of  Qy.  15), 
248,  (Jy.  26),  308,  advance 
o(  from  Lienshankuan 
(Aug.  3).  3x0^5^. ;  portion 
engaged  atYoshirei(Jy.3i), 
315  ^  seq, ;  advance  on 
Taitsuho,  how  executed 
(Aug.  28),  ii.  66-^,  objec- 
tive of  (Aug.  29)  71 ;  posi- 
tion before  and  during 
crossing  of  Taitsuho,  93 
^seq,\  positions  and  ob- 
jectives  of  (Sep.  2),  106 ; 
pursuit  ordered,  124,  posi- 
tions before,  during,  and 
after  Shaho  172  et  seq,; 
orders  to  (Oct.  7),  177-8, 
communications  cut  (Oct. 
xo)  181,  advancing  on  the 
Shaho  (Oct.  17),  258-9 

opinion  of  England  held  by, 
i.  X77 

sections  of,  history  of  work 
done  by 
Imperial  Guards,  heavy 
marching  order  eauip- 
ment  of,T.  54 ;  at  Yosnirei 
battle,  3x5  et  seq.;  after 
Yushiding,  ii.  5 ;  in  the 
battle  of  Aug.  26,  35,  43, 
5X,  54,  56,  63  and  after, 

67,  69-70*  Jh  74  «*  «^«t 
95;  sentagainstmonntain, 
151  (Sept.  2),  105,  X06, 118, 
orders  to  cSept  4),  12^, 
progress  with,  129,  posi- 
tions of  (Oct  9),  173-3, 
(Oct.  10)  174  ;  work  of,  at 
battle  of  Shaho  (Oct.  11), 
'94"$  •  orders  to  (Oct.  11 
evemng),  210 ;  hill,  &a, 
taken  by  (Oct.  12,),  2x9; 
further  progress  of  223, 
orders  to  and  proceedings 
of  (Oct  13),  244^S0g.,257-8 


372 


Indbx 


J^MJi,  First  Army  of— ^miInhmiI 
Saoood  Divisioii,  oelel>ratio&  of 
the  Feast  of  the  Dead  by 

Sine  19),  L 196  ;  splendid 
ystqae  of,  201-a,  iL  x8, 
SI ;  soorce  and  character 
of  277 
wonc  oty  ac  MOueDimK  Dartiei 
i.  258;  at  Yosh]rei,3Z4,3i5. 
4i  siq.;  in  the  battle  ot 
Aug.    26,    iL    35,    37-«, 

4«-4»  46,  S^f  5^  A  6a, 
6},  lones  of,  71,  and 
after,  67, 69,  74, 83, 88;  at 
Manjuyama,  104  «f  seq, ; 
occnpies  Mountain  131 
(Sept  4),  123,  orders  to 
(same  date),  124,  execn- 
tion  of,  129  ;  orders  to, 
and  position  of  (Oct.  7), 
177-8,  the  same  (Oct  13), 
244  $i  seq. ;  at  Hetkontai,  iL 

354  «•!«><«,  355  «<«?. 
6th  Company,  charactistics 

shown     by,     Motienling 

Battle,  i  266 

i6th  Regt.,  work  of  at  Geb- 
ato,  i.  27^  ;  at  Shokorei, 
under  artillery  fire,  273 ;  at 
Chaotao,  288  et  seq. ;  joint 
attack  by,  on  Rossian 
right,  Chaotao  engage- 
ment, 295 
Twelfth  Division,  source  and 
character  of^  it  354  6*  no^ 
277 

work  of,  at  Aiho  crossing ; 
1 14-5.  at  the  Yalu  battle 
and  Hamaton  fight,  1^0  et 
seq.^  120  et  seq. ;  at  the  Yaln 
fight,  133 ;  engagement  of, 
at  Chaotao  (Jy.  19),  257, 
281-4,  339 ;  before  and 
during  Yoshirei  battle, 
307*  310, 314,  315 ;  antici- 
pated danger  to  (about  Jy. 
3i>)>  319  f  Russian  Intelli- 

gence  captured  by,  ii.  7  ; 
1  the  battle  of  Aug.  26, 

35»  42i  5if  56f  69f  and 
after,  61,  63  ^  seq,,  the 
attack  on  Manjuyama,  96 
et  seq.  and  taking  of,  102 
ei  seq.  ;  positions  of, 
ordered  (Aug.  28),  65,  and 


Japan,  First  Army  of— Msirnit 

Twelfth  'livlsinn— .fiOBfiMii 


gained  (Aug.  30),  ii,  8^7. 
tfaey  cross  the  Taitso^ 
(Aog.3i).87,i89;onkc 

to  (SepML  4),  12^  pro- 
gress with,  129,  figbtias 
near  Sandoha,i30 ;  ordos 
to  (Oct  7).  177.  positkfi 
of,  178  ;  near  andatPea- 
chiho  (Oct  9-»),  iSS. 
190-1,  231,  236  (Oct  i3> 
247 
Twenty-third  Brigade,  *ai 
o^  taking  of  Kosard  ridge, 

iL  54-6 
Umezawa   Brigade,  threatens 

Penchiho  (Aug.  31)1  °-  ^ 
85,  89,  and  takes  it,  9" 
noie,  93 
Japan,  Second  Army  of,  cona- 
tion o(,i.jS3,maTdiot(S 
Telisso,  ib.;  m  the  Liaff^ 
tung  Peninsula  Qvoe  ih 
S20 ;  at  Uenshanknan 
Qy.  6),  2$2 :  at  topttg 
Fujii  (Jy.  16),  24J  if^' 
march  of  to  Tashihchuj 

Oy.  ai).  ^5 ;  p^*  f 

on  July  M  and  «»?' J°' 
the  battle  near  Tashib- 
chiacFuju  on,  305-7 ;« 
Haicheng  (Aug.  3)ij^J; 
news  o^  (Aug.  rj)  »-7 « 
advance  of  (Aug.  29>  7'> 

(Aug.  31).  95.  (^j^ 
105 ;  socccss  <rfj^^ 
yang  134,  mtow  »* 
south  of  Taitsoho,  125  J 
lighting  of  (Oct  n),  J^5 
reverse  at  ShakaJfO  (W* 


Japan, 


!&-*'" 


*atfd  Army  ofj**^ 
Nogi),advanceo^«'"" 

northward  *dvance  (t 
a»n.  39.  '05).  fi- 354  ^ 
Japan,  Fourth  Army  m  (f*  *? 
NodxuX  composttw"," 
Laja;  advance  of  ««*Sv 
Takaboknjo(Jy-f*''^i' 
attack  on  that  J«g*  "i 

24-5).  306  J  oi»i5*«*5 

(Aug.  a8)ii67i  «*'*%. 


VI 


i^^pavrnqp 


^K" 


«i9iF"^9 


«*iv««« 


mmmfsmm 


Index 


378 


Japan,  Fourth  Army  oi~^<mUimed 
sabsequent  work  of  and 
capture  of  Hsinlitim,ii.95, 
131  ;  progress  of  (Sept. 
2)>  X05 ;  objective  of  (Oct. 
11),  193;  advance  of, 
and  capture  of  Sankwaise- 
kisan  (Oct.  11),  T99,  aoo^ 
2  ro-14  &noUSt  subsequent 
operations,  217,  244 ; 
news  from  250,  251;  loss 
by,  of  Waitosan,  269 
and  of  guns,  269-70,  271 
lessons  from,  272  ;  after 
/  Siuyen,  330 

Tenth  Division,  work  of  at  the 
Takubokujo  fight,  i.  222 

Japanese,  the,  in  1904,  first  impres- 
sions of,  i  16,  later  impres- 
sions, ii.  21  «^  seq.t  place  of 
women,  17,  education, 
17-18 

Army  (se$  also  Artillery,  Com- 
manders, Firing,  Signal- 
ling, Spade-work,  &c,), 
characteristics  o^  i.  10- 
II,  15,  43,  97  audacity, 
320,  330,  332,  ii  45,  88, 
212,  215  ;  efficiency,  and 
its  cause,  L  200;  preli- 
minaiv  care,  97,  134, 175, 
349,  it  129;  reticence,  L 

32, 45, 47»  59. 69, 77-8, 148, 
178,  exceptions,  202,  228, 
265 

educational  standard  of,  9, 

10 
health  of,  how  maintained, 

L  305,  iL  9 

pursuit  by,  remarks  on,  i. 

116,  279,  ii.  148-9 
regiments,  number  of  bat- 
talions in,i.  276;  strength 
of  companies  in,  315 
reserves,  names  for,  ii.  43, 44 

6*  note,  size  of,  i.  74 
secret  of  its  successes,  iL 

246  noU 
soldiers  o^  excellence  o(  L 
280 
calmness  of  before  battle, 

i.  207,215 
fine  material  of  Infantry, 
ii.59 


Japanese  Army — conHnued 
soldiers — continued 
honesty  of,  as  to  live  stock, 

L  215 
speed  and  initiative  of^  ii. 

198 
spirit  shown  by  wounded, 

i  281,  ii.  62 
toughness  of,  ii.  280 
subordinate  officers,  char- 
acteristics of,  ii.  ifr-7 
Japanese,  civil  and  military,  diffi- 
culties of  getting  in  touch 
with,i.  172,217,228 
interest  in  the  awakening  of 

China,  ii.  303 
life  and  society,  pleasant  fea- 
tures of,  i.  23,  37  et  seq. 
National  Anthem,  a  translation 

of,  ii.  285  &  note 
politeness,  ii.  23-4;  instances  o( 

143,  260 
pride,  ii.  21-2 
sailors,  sources  of  the  best,  iL 

277 
suavity,  nature  of,  i.  76 
view  of  Russian  sailors,  ii.  307 
view  of  surrender  of  Port  Ar- 
thur, iL  307 
War    Song,  author's    rhymed 
version  of,  L  169-70,  176 
Japanese  and  British  ^^uns  out- 
classed by  Russian,  iL  190, 

193.  195 
military     organisation     com- 
pared, 18 
Jardine,    Captain,    5th    Lancers, 
British  attach6  with  First 

Japanese  Army,  i.  46  ;  his 
nowledge  of  Japanese, 
57,  179 ;  departure  of,  to 
Aiyanmen,  192-3 ;  with 
Z2th  Division,  205 ;  de- 
spatch from  on  the  Chao- 
tao  engagement,  special 
value  of,  281-2,  pith  of, 
285^509.,  301;  news  from, 
on  Kosarei  and  Yentai,  ii. 
147-8;  with  the  cavalry, 
211,  279 
Jibouti,  Russian  gunboat,  arrival 
of,  above  Densotai,  L  310 

Jokahoshi,  i.  260 
okesi  Japanese  appreciation  of, 
L  68,  208 


874 


Index 


Kaipimo,  L  79,  184,  details  of  the 
poeitioii  at,  187,  antici- 
pated fighting  at  186-7, 
a43  ;  repolse  of  tne  Ros- 
•ians  at  (Jy.  12),  8^7; 
Japanese  and  Rossian 
rorces  near,  tojL  351, 
relative  valae  o^  Fojli  on 

(Jy.  I5).a48       .      ^ 
Kakaton,  Japanese  cavalry  from, 

at  Telissu  fight,  i.  194 

Kamiriuka  valley,  em>rts  to  dear 
(Oct  is),ii.  ax8«/f«9 

Kamimnra,  Admiral,  defeat  A  the 
Vladivostock  fleet  by 
(Aug.  14),  ii.  9 

Kanin,  Prince,  it  156,  commanding 
Second  Cavalry  Brigade, 
178-9,  brilliant  success 
of  near  Penchiho  (Oct 
11-12),  4^6,  338-40 

Ktmjo^  a,  what  it  is,  ii.  363  noU ;  a 
neat  pun  on,  279 

Kankuantun,  iL  90 

Kanthio,  the  Russian  stores  at, 
stonr  of,  i.  250-1 

Kansoten,  advance  of  Second  Divi- 
^on  Japanese  ist  Army 
to  (June  36),  L  2x8 

Kasan,  near  the  Yalu,  i.  83, 135 

Kaschtalinsky,  General,  position 
and  entrenchments  of,  be- 
fore the  Yalu  fight,  i.  7^, 
82,  defects  of,  132;  his 
lost  opportunity,  86 

Katsura,  Major-General  Count, 
Prime  Minister,  i.  19,  20, 
22 

Kawasaki,  Colonel,  30th  Regt.,  a 
day  with,  at  Coal  Mines, 
ii.  291-2 

Keller,  General  Count,  movements 
oi^  discussed  (Jy.  22-6),  i. 
276,  284,  306,  307  ;  at  the 
battle  of  Yosh£rei  (Jy.  31^, 
i.  315  et  seq,,  ii.  ^3;  his 
deaths  i.  337 ;  foreign  opi- 
nion o^  ii.  163  ;  Japanese 
admiration  of  his  bravery, 
305 

Key,  the,  of  a  position,  defined,  i. 
94 

Kigoshi,  Major-General,la3rd  Bri- 
gade, i2th  Division  ist 
Japanese  army,  i.  147, 148; 


Kigoshi — conHmud 

at  Chaotao,  389,  ags,  297; 
at  YuahuHng-,  344 ;  at  Ko- 
sarei,  fine  feat  of  (Aug.  aQ 
iL  42 ;  with  the  5th  Di- 
vision at  Heikoatai,  335 

Kinchou,  Marquis  Oyama  a^  I 
25-7 ;  author's  oomic  sito- 
ation  on  anivii^  at,  s. 
320-2 

Kinkahoshi,  i.  230 ;  Russian  field 
battery  a^  MotienKng 
Battle,  273  ;  in  relatioa  to 
Yoshirei  battle^  536; 
events  at,  before  battle 
of  Aug.  2^  ii*  r— 34 

Kinteito  Island,  and  the  Yala  fight 
in,  L  89,  92,  97,  bridge 
made  to,  99,  Japanese  ar- 
tillery on,  106-10 

Kitashirakawa,  Prince,  First  Jap- 
anese army,  L  15a 

Kitchener,  Lord,  L  3,  1 19,  98s 

Kobi  (Reserve  Regiment),  batta- 
lions o^  at  Kuantiencbca 
i.  185  ;  record  march  o^ 
iL  44  6*  noU ;  in  the 
battle  of  Aog.  26,  44-5, 
54  ;  Kuroki's  use  o^  90 ; 
at  Heikoutai,  354-5.  et  ssq, 

Kodama,  Lieut. -GeneanLl  Baron, 
Vice-Chief  of  General 
Staff  of  the  Army  and 
Governor  of  Formosa,  L 
19-^0,  28-30,  }$ ;  ap- 
pohited  Chief  oTStaff  to 
Oyama  (June  ax),  904,11 
95,  landing  o^  at  Dalny 

UY'  15)1  ^  ^S ;  meedng 
with,  aitter  Liaoyan^  iL 
142-3;  he  goes  to  Poet 
Arthur  (Sept  19)  156  ;  as 
a  host,  289 ;  an  instrac- 
tive  luncheon  with,  394-5; 
last  meeting  with,  363 

Kodama,  Major-General  T.,  Com- 
manding Engineer  First 
Japanese  Army,  L  1491 
151,  212  ;  his  garden  and 
its  moral  lessons,  304 

Kohoshi,  objective  of  Imperial 
Guards,  battle  of  Aug.  26^ 
"•  5»»  52,  gained  by,  63 

Kokahosbi,  ii.  59 

Kokashi  village,Terayama,  iLaoi-a 


Index 


375 


iComora,  Baron,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  L  la  20 

K^Snl^^atz,  Von  Moltke's  concen- 
tration at,  a  parallel,  il. 
133  &  note 

Korea,  as  seen  by  Captain  Vincent, 

i.  485-7    ^ 
Russian  operations  in,  before 

and  after  the  Yalu  fight  i. 

79,  134  ^seq. 

Korean  coolies,  utilised  by  Japan, 

pay  o^  i.  245 

houses,  dirtiness  of,  i.  59 

natives  first  impressions  o^  L 

47,  and  characteristics  o^ 

56--7,  their  live  stodc,  159- 

60 

Kosarei,  Mountain  and  ridge,  in 

relation  to  battle  of  26 

Aug.,  iL  39,  41,  taken  by 

Japanese,  54-6,  58,  60, 73, 

147-8 
Koantienchen,  i.  182,  good  service 

of  the  Kobi  battalions  at, 

185 
Kujo,  Prince  M.,  i.  22 

Kungshan  Mountain,  held  by  2nd 
Division,  Japanese  army, 
Aug.  26,  il.  56 

Knni,  Prince,  A.D.C.  to  Marshal 
Kuroki,  L  59,  67  ei  passim^ 
at  the  Feast  of  the  Dead, 
i.  196  ;  at  a  popular  play, 

57 
Konshintai,  4th  Arm3r's  cavalry  at, 

Aug.  29,  IL  70 
Kurita,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  head 
of  Transport  and  Supply 
Section.  First  Japanese 
Army,  L  148,  212,  243,  ii, 
106 ;  on  the  Russian  ca- 
valry attempt  to  cut  com- 
munications in  Korea,  L 
34  ei  seq. 

Kuroda,  Captain,  Adjutant  to 
General  Officer  command- 
ing First  Japanese  Army, 
L  212 

Kuroki,  Marshal  Baron,  Com- 
manding First  Japanese 
Army,  i.  51, 21 1.  et  passim^ 
m  famille^  52,  nrst  meet- 
ings with,  67,  71 ;  posi- 
tions of  before,  during 
and  after  Yalu  fight,  73, 


K\mkir-caHiimi$d 

e^seq.;  his  entertainment 
of  the  foreign  attach6s 
after  the  Battle  of  the 
Yalu,  i.  145,  153,  the 
author  responds,  153-41 
the  decorations,  154-6, 
plays  and  other  amuse- 
ments, 156-8,  the  Russian 
prisoners*  dinner,  159 ; 
author  attached  to^  during 
advance  of  First  Japanese 
Army,  205  fit  seq,  ;  hospi- 
tality of,  en  route,  207 ; 
success  of,  at  Motienling 
Battle,  to  what  due,  258  : 
his  calmness,  313,  and 
methods  with  his  Staff,  ii 
12  et  seq,y  appreciation  of 
his  calmness  by  the 
Japanese,  43,  205,  208. 
251  ;  and  the  battle  ot 
Yoshirei  (Jy.  31),  i.  315  et 
seq,  ,  319 ;  at  the  battle 
of  Aug.  26,  iL  37,  39,  40 
et  seq, ;  his  handling  of 
Reserves,  44-5,  90 ;  check 
to  his  left,  83  et  pravi  ;  on 
the  slopes  of  Manjuyama, 
X26-7  ;  during  the  battle 
of  the  Shsdho,  187-9 1 
orders  o^  evening  of  Oct. 
2,2x0;  congratulations  to, 
on  the  Emperor's  birth- 
day, 281  ;  Japanese  New 
Year's  Day  feast  with, 
302^^5^.;  farewell  break- 
hst  with  (Jan-  3©  '05),  349 ; 
farewell  banquet  given  by 
to  the  author  (Feb.  3,  '05), 
359-60,  a  last  glass  with, 
361 

Kuropatkin,  General  (Passim)^  and 
the  battle  of  the  Yalu,  i. 
75,  78  et  seq,,  subsequent 
positions,  o^  203,  220^ 
puxxle  provided  by,  230-2, 
248-50,  Fujii's  specula- 
tions thereon,  283-4,  307, 
319 ;  dispositions  of, 
against  Japanese  (Aug. 
12),  Yoshirei  battle,  340 
^  seq, ;  date  of  his  resolu- 
tion to  retire,  after  the 
battle  of  26  Aug.,  ii.  84  ^ 


376 


(Oct.6K  iL  175;  pro- 

o^     00     bis 

;    Tamaka's 

on,  SS6-76' 

Ko^rentkai  hiOSb  Rnvjin 

■MBts  at,  iL  89 

KTokaboshi,  advance  of  J; 

Giianls  to  (J  one  26),  L  aiS 


KjimtD  IsUnd,  and  tbe  battle  o( 
tbe  Yaln,  L  97-9t  no 


Ladtsmith,  a  paianfi,  n.  54; 

o€  bovkxen  at  3tx-s 
Lain^^  Nek,  a  paianfi,  n.  156 
y^whrk,  in  febukm  to  batde   o€ 

An^.  261.  n.  4a 
Laokyo — Sotnabo  Ime,  taken  by 

8tb    Division,  Heikontai 

fifbt,ii.  355 
T*«^t_  objective  ci  and  Division 

ist  Japanese  Army,  (S^. 

4)  ii.  125 
Lcntowan,  Japanese  crossiiis   of 

Taitsobo  at,  ordered,  iL 

85-7,  ezecoted,  88  tt  seq. 
Liao  cirer,  tyidge-making  ttte  at, 

ii  167-8 
Liaotang  Peninsula,  and  Japanese 

Anny   in    (Jane,   04),   L 


n.  193 


Liaojang,  Battle  o<,  sm  mlso  Battle 
of  26  Aog^  mmd  Yosbiiei 
general  impressions  on,  iL  132 
€i  SA7.  mere  and  official 
detaus,  15a  et  seq. 
Russian  movements  at  and 
near  before    tbe  battle, 

L  187,  210,*  831,  833,  ^5« 

828,  232,  25O1  285,  316  a 
9tq.i  relative  position  of 
combatants  to,  after  Yo- 
shirei  battle,  363 

Ibrts  of  captured  by  and  and 
4tb  Japanese  Armies,  iL 
124 

objective   of  Stakdberg  (Oct 

rood,    character    of    country 
near,    L     191,    Japanese 
advance  army,  210 
Rossian  reinforcements  vi4, 
battle  of  Aug.  36,  iL  57 


vaD^,  L  a35,  ^3i^^s^^ 
L8L4,  Russian  tcrz:f= 
at,  i85,tlie  burning  of  tier 
stores  at,  223  ;  H.Q.  2zi 


Army  (Jnly  6>,   333,  bf 


in  rdaiicHt  to  the  Motk& 

ling  Pass  battle,  333  c 

Uf^  258,  360,  310  £i  seq. 
finrhatal,  L  219,  a  talk  with  Fjp 

at,  330 
Lives,    risking     or      sparing    bf 

Gcnaals/rvs  amd  C4as  i3t 

n- 345^360 
LoQpholeSk  in  rrfatimi  to  ▼akzeof 

coyer;  L  130— i 
fjntatai,  objecdvo  of  aad  Dins^ 

(Sep.  4),  iL  124 
Loaisbonrg,  a  parallel,  L  347 
Loyalty  among  officers,  lessons  oc, 

ii-46.97 
Lydenberg,  a  paralld,  iL  136 

llcCauL,lfl58  Etbd,  at  Fef^nzfr 

cbeng,  L  171-a 
llacDonald,  Sir  Qande,  L  19 
llajobfl^  a  resemblance,  L  346 
llakan,  Rnssian  battery  near.  Yak 

fi^t,  L  no,  in 
liaknmenaa,  Rossian  forces  at  i 

230,  r^olse  374,  fight  at 

374-5,  position  secnred  b? 

Japanese,  375,  376 
Makorayama,  Mountain,  in  reb- 

tion  to  Yosbirei  battle,  I 

340f  34^  Japanese  attack 

".  345  «  «?. 
If  anchoria,diq»6ltk)in  of  Japanese 
troc^ps  in  and  near  (Jane 
15),  L  190 
£uiiung  in,  L  65<-6, 166 
French,  American,  and  Ger* 
man  comparisons  of;  L  65 
liver  valley  land  fd^  ficatiBes 
o(  L  313-5,  219 
Southern,  Japanese  estimate  of 
Russian  troops  in,  Jane 
15,  L  186 
Manchorian  War,  lessons  ctf  to 
officers,  iL  497 


Index 


877 


Itftanjajrama,  Russian  Outpost 
(Sept.  i),  il.  93,  95.  Japa- 
nese attack  on,  96  et  seq.^ 
and  taking  of,  102  et  seq., 
position  at,  next  day,  zo6, 
Russian  assaults  on,  113 
et  seq. ;  after  the  fighting, 
127 ;  some  lessons  of,  140 ; 
more  details,  159 
Maps,  lack  of,  and  badness  of,  ii. 

i8i-a 
March,  Captain,  U.S.A.  Artillery, 

i.46 
Mami,  Major-Greneral,  command- 
ing a  brigade,  in  attack  on 
Sankwaisekisan,  ii.  213 
note 
Matoriroff,  Lieutenant  -  Colonel, 
attempt  of  to  cut  com- 
munications in  Korea,  i. 
135  et  seq. 
Matsuishi,  Colonel,Assistant-Chief 
of  Staff,  First  Japanese 
Army,  i.  148,  191,  211, 
243t  305;  a  send-ofi^  to 
Tokio  (Sept  15),  ii.  150-1 
Matsnmoto,  Colonel,  commanding 
Artilleiy,  First  Japanese 
Army,  i.  149, 912 
Matsunaga,  Major-General,  com- 
manding 3rd  Brigade  ist 
Japanese  Army,  L  147,  ii. 
69,  83,  at  Yoshird,  L  321, 
at  Manjuyama,  ii.  11 5-6 
&  note ;  efforts  of  to  reach 
Sanjoshisan  (Oct.  iz),  196, 
successful  assault  on,  198, 
further  doings  (Oct  12), 
218-9  &  note  ;  attempt  of 
to  reach  Chosenrei  (Oct. 
I3)»  «45-<5  *  notes;  ap- 
pointed Chief  of  Staff  to 
General  Nogi,  his  appear- 
ance, 358 

Maxwell,  Mr.,  of  the  *'  Standard," 
L  194-^f  ii.  92;  and  the 
Japanese  war-song,  L 169, 
176 

Mayapuza,  in  relation  to  Yoshirei 
battle,  i.  322 

Miage,  Captain,  Adjutant  to  In- 
teliigence  Section  First 
Japanese  Army,  i.  212 

Military  bravery,  Japsmese  ad- 
miration for,  1.  265 


Military — continued 

conservatism,  advantages  of,  L 

313 
coolies,  employed  by  the  Japa- 
nese, details  concerning, 
i.  243  et  seq. 

Mingshan  and  Shishan  Mountains 
taken  by  Stakelberc;  (Oct. 
9),  success  not  followed 
up,  it  191,  fresh  Russian 
attack  on  from  Penchiho 
repulsed  (Oct.  12),  231 

« Minstrel  Boy,  The,"  at  Feng- 
huangchen,  i.  209 

Mistchenko,  Generad,  i.  183-5,  I9Z> 

,  ,     "•  354.  356 
Mobility,  Japanese,  i.  266 
Modesty,  national  variants  o^  iL 

161-2 
Mokabo,  fighting  near  (Aug.  30), 

ii.  75  et  seq. 
Moral,  part  played  by  at  Liaoyang, 

ii.  i39-4<* 

^'  Most  favoured  nation,"  England 
not  in  the  position  o£^  in 
Japanese  military  con- 
sideration, i.  178,  smooth 
speech  by  Fujii  concern- 
ing, 182 

Motienling  Pass,  i,  223,  Russian 
forces   near,    18^;    Rus- 
sian   withdrawal    from, 
222 
skirmish  at,  i.  230,  an  affafr 
of    outposts,    230,    252, 
author's  visit  to  the  scene 
of  Hy.  6),  231  et  seq. 
battle  of  (Jy.  17),  L  253  et  seq., 
points  of  note  in,  257-^, 
the  progress  of  the  nght 
in  detail,  259  et  seq. 
crossing  o£^  by  First  Japanese 

Army  (Aug.  3),  i.  31 1-2 
importance  to  the  Japanese, 
during  Yoshirei  battle,  i. 
190,322 

Motienling  range  and  valleys,  L 
315-6,  passes  over,  316, 
Russian  positions  in  re- 
gard to,  at  the  battle  of 
Yoshfrei,  316  et  seq. 

Mountain  guns,  insufficiency  of^ 
with  both  contending 
parties  in  Manchuria,  L 
278,  effects  of  this  on  the 


S78 


Ini>sx 


If  oontain  guns — conHtmsd 

Japanese  side,  279 ;  ased 
at  battle  of  Aug.  26,  ii. 

47.  50.  53 
lloantain  131,  Russian  outpost,  ii 

r\,  93,  attack  on,  105 
,    3i9,qaitted  by  Russians 

(Jy.  28),  308,  their  retreat 
on  ( Aiic;.)f  u.  89 ;  Japanese 
objective  (October),  211 ; 
Russians  Calling  back  on 
early  on  Oct.  13,  224 
llutauhito  I.,  Emperor  of  Japan, 
i*  37t  bis  birthday  kept  by 
the  Army,  ii.  281 

NAAMAN,the  S]nrian,  his  precedent 
followed  by  the  author,  i. 

199 
Namakura  the  author's  Japanese 

interpreter,  i.  214,  li  260, 

as  a  mimic,  288,  his  noble 

efibrts  on  Christmas  Day, 

296-8,  the  author's  verses 

on,  299 

Nanshan,  fight,  L  226 ;  visit  to  the 
battlefield  of,  ii.  323-7 

Nanxan,  taken  by  30th  Regt.  (Oct. 
12),  iL  217  6*  note  217-18 

Napoleon  I.,  views  of,  on  use  of 
Reserves,  ii.  45;  on  the 
importance  of  the  Leader, 

139 
Napoleon  III.,  and  his  military 

attach^  at  Berlin,  1870., 

L313 
Nashimoto,  Prince,  iL  156 
National  life,  what  it  consists  in, 

ii.  33-4 

Naval  and  military  fighting,  a  com- 
parison, li.  18  gt  seq. 

Nenkyaten,  burnt  by  retreating 
Russians  (Jy.  25),  L  306 

Newchwang,  i.  79,  250,  and  the 
missionsuries,  ii.  X04 

Nidoboshi,  or  **  cross  roads,"  i.  225 

Nishi,  Major-General  Baron,  com- 
manding 2nd  Division, 
First  Japanese  Army,  L 
147, 152,  i99i  235;  and  the 
advance  on  Antung,  119- 
20;  at  the  Feast  of  the 
Deiad,  196,  his  oration, 
197,  the  author's  associa- 
tion  in  the  ceremonies, 


Nishi 

198,  199  ;  In  the  hatdt : 
Aug.  36,  ii.  43 

Nishijima,  General,  ror^^ft^^^^ 
the  2nd  Divisioo  at  E: 
koatai,  iL  355 

Nodxu,  General,  coannaiidbig  '^c 
Japanese  Divisioa  Fos'^ 
Army,  landing  oi,  L  22; 
afterwards  rrhmm?^^^: 
the  Fourth  Aiuiy,appes: 
ance  of,  iL  156,  a  caul  x 

157 

Nogi«  General,  commander  of  6e 
3rd  Japanese  Army.iiars 
under  at  Port  Arthor  \]j 
5),  L  23a,  347,  yy;,  yc 
views  of,  on  howit^eG,  1 
159;  meeting  with  (JaiLii, 
*o5).  3061  dinner  with  Qn. 
22),  views  of  on  fbrtifci- 
tions,  &ap  311 ;  atti^>ds 
on  death  of  his  sons,  23> 
thor's  impressions  oL  31: 

Novik,  Russian  warship,  escape  at 
(Aug.  10),  ii.  9,  sunk  late; 

35 
Nure,  Captain,  Chief  of  MidtzrT 

Police,    First     Japsnese 

Army,  L  212 

Officers  and  men,  combinatioDof 
ensuring  first-class  resoks, 
a  Japanese  dictum,  L  200 

Oka,  Major,  killed  at  Takubokujo, 
L  222 

Okahoshi,  Russian  turning  move- 
ment from,  battle  of  Mo- 
tienling,  L  26o»  resuldn;  ii 
^  a  smart  fight,  261 

Okasaki,  General,  commandios 
15th  Brigade  2ndDivi90ii, 
ist  Japanese  Army,  L  147, 
333>  u.  42;  his  generosity, 
L  281 ;  at  Moticmling,  267 ; 
at  Yoshirei,  success  oi  &t 
Penlin,  3x8, 32x^56  etstq^ 
attack  o^  on  Manjuyaioa, 
96  et  s^,  118;  bisassanit 
of  Terayama  (Oct  1 1),  iL 
193,  199,  208,  commeots 
ou  the  foregoing,  212-61 
further  success  o^  at  bHI 
near  Sankas^i,  317;  at 
I  tempts  to  storm  moost 


-„-^ 


■%« 


-1^ 


Index 


379 


north  of  Shotatsuko  (Oct. 
ia-13),  337.  241,  244,  248 
et  seq.f  stin  encounter  of 
near  Renkwasan(Oct.i3), 
;  354t  263;    observance  of 

r  the  Emperor's  birthday, 

[  282;  departure  of,  ill  (Nov. 

22),  390-I1  recovery  and 
return,  291  note. 
Okasaki  Yania(Mountain)J  apanese 
attempted  occupation  of 
(Oct.  5),  ii.  175  &  note, 
nght  for  and  success  of 
Okasaki  (Oct.  12),  217  & 
note,  244,  24S-54,  import- 
ance of,  255-6,  257,  au- 
thor's visit  to,  after  the 
battle,  260 
\  Orloffy  General,  and  his  Cossacks 
concentrated    at  Yentai, 
;  ii.  107,  his  flight,  110,  z  15 

'    Osaka    soldiers,    "townies,"   un- 
^  military  notions  o^  i.  226 

Osekito  Island,  Yalu  river,  i.  89, 97 
'  Oku,  General,  of  the  Second  Ja- 
panese Army,  his  march 
to  meet  troops «»  route  for 
Port  Arthur,  i.  161 ;  his 
entry  into  Haicheng,  ii. 
114;  a  visit  to,  151.  his 
appearance,  156;  witn  his 
forces  at  TeUssu,  31,  33, 
78,    his    strategy  there, 

I  344~5i  347 

Omdurman,  battle  o^  a  parallel,  i. 
269 

Omura,  Captain,  Adjutant  to  Ope- 
rations Section,  First  Ja- 
panese Army,  L  2x2 

Ota,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  gallantry 
and  quick  decision  of  at 
Taling  (Oct  12),  ii.  233 

Outposts,  Russian,  carelessness  of, 
ii.58 

Gyama,  Lieutenant  -  General 
(known  as  Marshal)  Mar- 
anis,  Chief  of  General 
Staff  of  the  Army,  i.  19, 22, 
career  of,  23-8 ;  appointed 
to  the  supreme  command 
in  Manchuria,  204, 308-9, 
landing  o^at  Daln^Qy.is) 
248  ;  congratulations  of, 
to  the  ist  Japanese  Army, 


Oyama — conHnued 

on  the  Battle  of  Aug.  26^ 
ii.  65;  share  o^  in  the 
success  at  Liaoyang,  138, 
author's  meeting  with, 
after  Liaoyang,  142-3 ; 
orders  armies  to  concen- 
trate (Oct.  8X  178 ;  a  his- 
toric dinner  with,  and  his 
generals,  156 ;  reserves 
sent  by,  to  First  Army 

iOct.  13),  251-2 ;  present 
rom,  on  the  King's  birth- 
day, 286 ;  luncheon  with, 
and  with  Kodama  (Nov. 

23)1  289 
Oyanagi,  Colonel  (ranking  with), 

Chief   Paymaster^    First 

Japanese  Army,  i.  212 

Papanlin,  in  relation  to  Yoshirei 
battle,  i.  323  ;  and  to  that 
of  Aug.  26,  iL  51,  taken 
by  Japanese,  56 

Patriotism,  Japanese  and  British, 
«5»  a7i  29,  33;  in  the 
military  drama,  301-3 

Peace  and  the  Chinese  peril,  i.  167 
terms     of,    a    discussion    on 
(June),  227 

Penchiho  or  Honkeiko,  Japanese 
reconnaissance  near,  Cha- 
otao  fight,  L  292;  Rus- 
sians at,  same  time,  294 ; 
fighting  at,  Yoshirei  battle, 
351-2;  Russian  strength 
at,  and  retreat  firom  (Aug. 
26),  ii  65,  menaced  by 
them(Sept.i9),  Umexawa's 
efforts  to  protect,  173,  i8z; 
affairs  at,  during  Oct.  1 1, 
190,  207 ;  on  Oct.  12,  218, 
330 ;  Russian  attack, 
231-2;  serious  state  of 
things,  236 ;  Kanin's  bril- 
liant cavalry  success  near, 
and  rehef  o^  237  et  seq. ; 
the  sending  of  Matsunaga 
to,  discussed,  255;  Rus- 
sian turning  movement 
at,  criticised  at,  265-7 

Penlin,  taken  by  Japanese,  L  318, 
they  are  driven  out,  339 
et  seq,,  344 ;  the  Russians 
again  driven  off,353  et  seq^ 


S80 


Indsx 


topography  of  the  district, 

L  543  «f  Mf . 
Penlfai — Lipyui — Hochatsa  road, 

Russian  losses   along,  i. 

356  «f  S0q. 
Penooal    appearance,    different 

standards   o^   Japanese 

andWesteni,  i.ao,  17,24. 

29.146 

eiposiire  of  Russian   officers, 

Ifotienlinc    battle,    bad 

effects  o{^  271 

Peraooality,  Japanese  military  in- 

difoence  to,  iL  15-17  6* 

Mf  139 
PhjTsiqae,  diffierences  in,  of  Eng- 
lish, Scotch,  and  Irish,  i. 


Port  Arthnr 

by  the 
11.  315-17 


a^ 


Picqaet,  Japanese,  on  Daisan, 
ignorance  of,  as  to  foreign 
attach^  iL  272-5 

Picqnets,  Russian,  at  Malcurayama, 

i-  345-^.  361 
Pigeon  Bay,  success  near,  iL  295 

Pinamfn,  Japanese  pursuit  to  (Jy. 
25,  04)  L  306 

Pingtaitsu,  Umesawa's  success  at 
(Sept  2),  iL  1 19,  his  fight 
at  (Sept.  17),  173,  and 
retreat  from,  177 

Pingyang  city,  i.  57,  79,  83,  curi- 
ons  shape  of,  56 
estuary,  L  47,  52 
flats,  i.  56 

Poetry  and  warfare,  L  27,  iL  286-p^ 

Pompoms,  moral  destroying  quah- 
ties  o^  i  272 

Port  Arthur,  earlier  siege  of, 
Oyamaat,L  25-7,  opposing 
forces  converging  on,  161, 
Russian  forces  at  (June 
15),  187,  Japanese  do, 
(June  19),  203,  (Jy,  15) 
247,  progress  of  her  in- 
vestment, 307,  310,  ii.  61, 
defeat  of  the  Russian  fleet 
at  (Aug.  10),  9,  further 
progress  of  the  siege,  20, 
I59i  168-9,  as  affected  by 
howitzers,  270-1 ,  the  siege 
continues,  295,  fall  o£ 
news  received  at  Coal 
Mines  (Jan.  i,  '05),  300, 
Japanese  news  on,  307 


t 


183 


u 


Ramob-finding,  Rossaan  suds : 

ii-94 
Rearguard  figfatingv     India,  sl 

S,  Africa,  ii.  342 

Red  ti^"  or  etiquette — a  ksx 

ii-96-7 

Regiments,  Russian  and  Japx^ 
number  of  battahocs  x 
L  276;  strenglb  ofccc 
panies  in,  315 

Reinforcements,  a  lesson  <a,  s> 
123 

Religion,  attitude  of  the  Japass 
Generals  to,  L  200 

Rennenkamp^  General,  st  S^ 
machi,  L  185,  203,  ai&ae 
is  wounded,  319,  cross^ 
Taitsuho,  iL  181,  25^  £a 
ther  movements  o^  i^ 
191,  192,  is  diiveo  bad 
238-40 

Renkwasan,  action  near  (Oct  13* 
iL  263 

Reserves,  bottling-up  o(  anthK^ 
view  on,  i.  301 
Japanese,  Kuroki's  handiii^ci 
IL  42-3,  54,  90 ;  names  of 

L285  Moto,3i5<$'jioCe,iL43 
44  &noU 
Russian  (Aug.  29),7i,  retreat  d 
Telissu,  342 
Resistance  or  surrender,  ethics  oi 

i-  24i»  359 
Reticence  of  Japanese  commaod- 

ers,  etc.,  instances  of;  L  3:, 

45.47.59.69-71.77-8,145. 
178,     285,     <<  eiceptioss 

prove   the  mle^''  702^ 

232-3 
Retreat,  steadiness  of  Russian  st^- 

diers  in,  L  264. 272, 178, 

297,  299,  iL  52,  131,  137 

tiseq. 
Rice^  inadequacy  o^  as  food  for 

Europeans,  1 58, 153,  i6cy 

218,  220 
Rihorei,  in  relation  to  the  Yoshixei 

battle,  1,326 


J 


n 


Index 


381 


c.aLl:i.08hi9  ascending  ground  be- 
t  yond,  to  the  Motienling 

Pass,  L  233 
k-^nralio,  environs  o^  i.  57 
^a.dinaking  and  repairing^British 
r  superiority  over  Japanese 

in,  i.  346 
ol>ert8,  £arl,  i.  9,  22,  ii.  246  noUf 
.  294, 3^ 

ocky  Hill,  Japanese  use  of  ar- 
tillery from,  Motienling 
battle,  L  269,  effects  o^ 

275-6 
lodoko,  advance  of  12th  Division, 

First  Japanese  Army  to, 

i.  218 
;*  Rooski,"   the  terrier,  joins  the 

author,  ii.  74, 79, 128, 165, 

329,  her   original  owner 

and  intended  fate,  305 
Roshisan,  Kuroki's  march  to  (Aug. 
'  28^  ii.  63,  64,  66 

^  Ruriky  Russian  warship,  sunk  near 

Tshushima  (Aug.  14),  ii.  9 
'  Ruskin,  cited  on  the  Benefits  of 

*  War,  i.  14 

i  Russia    in    Manchuria,    opposite 

*  views  on,  of  Great  Britain 
'  and  Japan,  i.  75-7 

Russian  action  at  battle  of  Motien- 
{  ling,  author's  comments 

on,  L  277-8 
i         advance  south  against  Second 
Japanese  Army,  i.   183  ; 
i  on  Yentai,  ii.  107 

Army,  characteristics  of^  1.  10, 
42-3,  ii.  207 
sixe  of,  L  74 
artillery,  Chaotao  fight,  i.  291-2 
tactics,      Hamaton     nght, 
J  21-30 

bayonet  charge,  Japanese  ac- 
;  count  of,  L  238 

$  bayonets,  bending  o^  ii.  261, 

f  278;  see  also  2^2  note 

bravery,  conspicuous  at  Hei- 

koutai,  ii.  356,  at  Penchiho, 

231,  at   Sankwaisekisan, 

,  3i3-4«  at  Waitosan,  281, 

)  at  Yoshirei,  i.  359 

casualties,  at  Chaotao,  i.  299 ; 
Cbintanpu,  ii.  355;  Mo- 
tienling battle,  i.  275, 
causes  of,  275-6 ;  Manyu- 
jama,  ii  z  15  6*  note ;  battle 


Russian  casualties — continued 

of  the  Shaho,  268  &  noU^ 
269 

cavaky  in  Korea,  attempt  of  to 
cut  communications,  i.  134 
et  seq, ;  author's  theories 
borne  out  by,  191 

character,  attractive  traits  of, 
iL  163 

Commissariat,  a  funny  story  o( 
i.  250-1 

entrenchments  at  Chaotao^  i. 
282,  287,  at  Penlin,  344, 

349 
guns,  power  and  activity  of  as 

seen  at  the  battle  of  Oct. 

II,  ii.  190,  193 ;  captured, 

Japanese  opinion  on,  i6z, 

351 
gunnery,  poor  quality  of,  ii.  227 
infantry,  at  the  Yalu  fight,  L 
130;    advance   o^   near 
Sanjoshisan  (Oct.  11),  ii. 
189-90 
military  defects  noted 

badness  of  Intelligence  De- 
partment, and  misleading 
news   received,  U.  7,  8, 
158,  160 
disregard  of  cover,  SMCover 
disr^ard   of  secrecy  and 

swiftness^  L  341-2 
indecision,  ii.  192 
lack  of  dash,  ii.  184-5 
of  good  generalship,  i.  359 
of  initiative,  ii.  64,  86-7, 

88-9 
of  mobility  and  flexibility, 
il  198 
picquets  at  Makurayama,  criti- 
cism on,  i.  345-6,  361 
positions   before,  during  and 
after  battie  of  the  Yalu, 
L  62,  91,  frontal  length 
of,  95,  132,  carried  by  the 
Japanese,  zi 5, defects  and 
merits,  115, 132  ;  Motien- 
ling fight  and  battie,  230 
et  seq.,  240,  255   ^  seq^ 
author's     criticisms    on, 
265,  after  the  battie,  Fujii 
on,  283;  Japanese  crossing 
of  the  Taitsuho,  ii.  93  et 
seq,,  Shaho  battie,  171  ei 
seq.t  180  et  esq. 


882 


Index 


Rossiao  prisoners,  anthor'sfeeling 
on  seeing,  i.  317  ;  other 
met  with,  ii.  a,  ^,  363 
regiment,  number  of  battalions 
in,  L  2j6;  strength  of 
companies  in,  315 
retreats  {s$e  also  Retreat),  Mo- 
tienling  battle,  i.  270,  why 
they  lost  their  advantages, 
271 ;  from  Chaotao,  im- 
portance of  line  of,  287- 
8,  297-9 ;  after  battle  of 
Aug.  26,  ii.  42,  52-3,  60, 
6x,  65,  72,  84  naU,  137; 
(Sept.  6),  information  on, 
128-9;  (Oct.  13),  245  rf 
ssq  ;  general,  begun  (Oct. 
13).  «58;Telis8u,342 
soldiers, 

bad    markmanship    oi^   see 
Firing 

honesty  of^  as  to  live  stock 
1.  2x5 

latent  good  qualities  in,  i. 

139 
sang  froid,  under  rifle  fire, 

Motienling  battle,  i.  272, 

279 

steadiness  in  retreati  i.  264, 

272,  278,  297,  299 

tactical  mistakes  in  battle  of 
the  Shaho,  author's  com- 
ment, ii,  261-2 

tactics,  at  Chaotao,  i.  282,  289 
et  seq, 

threats  as  to  successive  Euro- 
pean armies,  discussed,  L 
226-7 

troops,  European  said  to  be 
better  than  Siberian,  L 
257, 282, 301,  an  error,  and 
how  it  arose,  302-3 

wounded,  Motienling  Pass,  i. 

«34 
Russians,  a  Chinese  view  of,  ii.  81 

Safutum,  Russian  retreat  on  (Sept. 
2),  ii.  115 

Salgo,  Captain,  tiie  Marquis,  Ja- 
panese Imperial  Guards, 
f.46,  59,  iL  187 

Saimachi,  L  184,  294;  Rennen- 
kampf s  forces  at  (June 
15)  1^5!  march  to  of 
Twelfth    Division,    First 


cf  n 


Japanese  Army,  L  19a.  21 
Russian     advance 
109  ;    oocapatkn 
Japanese    faroes.  27i 
weak  point  in  tine  Ju 

ai 


237 

St.  Aubyn,  Miss,  at  Feqgtmirr 
cheng^i.  171 -a 

Saito,  Captain,  Supplies  Secb:^ 
ist  Ts^ianese  Army»  L  2.: 

Sandiasi.  hul  near,  occupied  r 
Second  Diviston,  n.  6cr 

Sandoha,  objective  of  the  Tvdi: 
Division,  First  Japarss 
Army  (Sept.   4),  i.  124 
fight  near,  130  &  mate 

Sanjago  occupied  by  Impens. 
Guardis,  First  Japaaoe 
Army,  ii.  63 

Sanjoshisan,  artillery  fire  on  (Oc: 
II),  ii.  189;  Matsoiup^ 
attack  on,  i  g6.  success  d 
198,  aiS;  Japanese  hai 
tery  near  (Oct  12),  244-f 

Sanjoshi  Yama  (hill)  takes  h 
Izaki  and  the  Goans 
(Oct.  I  a),  ii.  223 

Sankashif  field  hospital  at,  and  ib 
patients,  iL  27^-9 
Valley,  mountains  north  d 
held  by  Russians  (Octii,-. 
201,  their  guns  on,  206-7: 
positions  in  (Ck;t.  1 1 ),  209 

Sankwaisekisan  hiU,  Umeiava's 
fightnear(Sept4),ii  131, 
173;  Russian  guns  cc 
(Oct  II),  2o6>7,  caphind 
by  Nodzu  (OcL  11,  nigbt 
of),  210-14,  the  Idii  de- 
scribed, 211 

Sanseito,  height  east  of  occqxed 
by  Japanese  (Jy,  24),  i. 

Sanna*s  Post,  a  paralld,  i  299 
'd,  Major-General,  12th  Bri- 

fdcFirstJapaneseArmr. 
147 ;  at  Changsoof,  87 
at  Saimachi,  185;  at 
Chaotao,  291,  remarlahle 
Toxr^  by,  393;  success 
at  Penhng  (Jy,  31),  «8, 

344*  353  «<  «9- ;  at  batds 
of  Aug.  26,1156 


Index 


883 


assulitcb.    General,  at  the  Yalu 
:  fight,  i.  70,  8a,  84,  86,  87, 

defects  of  his  position,  1 32 
'SlIo^w  ,  Colonel,  Japanese  artillery, 

i.  46,  J9,  u.  270,  280 
la.t8tunay  rebellion,  i.  34 
■"* — »-i — \^  a  missed  opportunity  at, 


i.  338 
^eisekisan,  £all  o£  to  the  Japanese 

(Jy.  25),  i.  306 
;3ekijo,    retreat   of   Russian    left 
£rom,  Yaln  fight,  i.  114, 
Rassian     guns    at,    115, 
strong  resistance  at,  118 
^Sekimonsei  range,  peak  in  gained 
'  by  Matsonaga  (Aog.  29), 

^  iL7o 

Senkin  pass,  skirmish  at,  ii.  238-9 
Senkiujo,  Matsunaga's  dash  from, 
under  fire  (Oct   12),   iL 
226-9  &  noUs 
Seonl,  described  by  Vincent,  i.  51 
Seoul — Wiju  railway,  i.  187 
Servant  question  in  Japan,  i  36-7 
Shaho,  objective  of  2nd  Japanese 
army  (Ang.  28),  u.  66 
Battle    o^    positions    before, 
daring  and  after,  ii.  171, 
177 
author  s  comments  on  Rassian 
tactics  in,  204-7 
Shakaho,  the  2nd  Army  at  (Oct. 
I5),ii.  264,  reverse  of  Jap- 
anese (Oct.  17),  270 
Sheechonf,  i.  88,  89 
Shiba,  Colonel,  Japanese  artillery, 
i.  48 ;  and  his  troops,  at 
Chaotao,  292;  atTelissu, 
ii.  340-1 
Shibayama,  Captain,  Adjutant  to 
Genl.OfficerCommanding 
ist  Japanese  Army,  i.  212 
Shibuya,  General,  Chief  of  Line  of 

Communications,  i.  64 
Shi-Ho,  river  and  valley,  i.  286-7 ! 
Japanese  crossing  of, 
during  Yoshirei  battle, 
350  ;  Russian  positions  on 
(Jy.  31),  318 ;  Inouye's 
entrenchments    (Jy.    20), 

339-40 
Shimamora  Brigade,  defence  o^  on 

Manjuyama,  iL  104,  167 
Shimamura,  General,  brings  rdn- 

foreements     into      Pen- 


Shimamura — continued 

chiho  (Oct.  9),  iL  191,  and 
regains  possession  of 
Shishan,  191-3 

Shimonoseki,  i.  44 

Shinkwairei  Mt.  {see  also  Gebato), 
Russian  repulse  on,  L  274 

Shinto  ceremony  at  Feast  of  the 
Dead,  i.  196-8 

Shintoism,  as  a  military  faith, 
i.  199 

Shisan,  L339,  Rusdan  position  and 
guns  on,  340,  342,  354 
Japanese  mountain  guns 
on,  excellence  of  arranf;e- 
ments,  349-50,  Russian 
withdrawal  from  (Jy.  31), 

352-3 
Shishan,    ridge,    &c.,    taken    by 

Stakelberg  (Oct.  9)  and  l^ 

Shimamura  (Oct   10),  iL 

191-2 

Shohokka,  Japanese  cavalry  at 
(Tan.  25 '05)  iL  356 

Shokonsai,  the,  or  Feast  of  the 
Dead  at  Fenghuangcheng 
(June  19)^  L  196  et  seq. 

Shokorei  Mountams,  afiair  of  the 
7th  Japanese  Company 
on,  L  262;  Russian  left 
on,  Motienling  battle,  269, 
270 

Shotatsuko,  fighting  at  (Oct  iiX 
ii.  199 

Shiusenpu— Kotagai  (S.  of  Taitsa- 
ho)  line,  objective  of  First 
Japanese  Army  (Aug.  29), 
li.  71 

Siberian  troops,  good  qualities  of, 
L303,  see  also  European;  at 
Yoshirei  battle,  315,  good 
marksmanship  and  cour- 
age of,  a  Japanese  tri- 
bute, 328 

Signalling,  visual,  in  the  Japanese 
army  lack  of  arrange- 
ments for,  L  173-4,  196  & 
note,  241,  323,  author's 
criticisms,  on,  188,  Fujii's 
reply,  189 ;  a  case  in  point, 
121 

Siuyen,  i.  184,  Japanese  Guards 
at,  190 

Smokeless  powder,  Russian  and 
Japanese,     bright    flash 


S84 


Ikdsx 


Smokelen  ^wdtx—eaftHnued 

emitted   by,  i.  314,  350, 
haxe  from,  278,  314 

Smuts,  General,  his  view  on  ex- 
penditore  of  life  in  war- 
nre,  endoraed  by  the 
anthor,  iL  359 

Socialistic  error,  ii,  328 

Sodaiko  Eikaseki  outworks,  car- 
ried byjapanese3rd  Army 
Gy.  29),  i.  310 

Sokako,  Japanese  march  to,  i.  224; 
position  ol^  228-9 

Soldiers,  peasants  versus  city-bred 
men  as,  i.  5, 6, 8,  Japanese 
views,223-6,276,endor8ed 
bv  author,  277 

South  African  War,  lessons  from, 
and  parallels  to,  L  5,  6,  8, 
80-1,  91,  "o,  127-9,  157, 
175,  181,  199,  210,  211, 
215.  233»  266,  279,  294, 
299»  310.  3i3i  329.  3461 
354.  359;  ii-  ".  27,  34, 
58.  97,  136, 167,  182,  i88> 
195,  201,  202,  23s  fk>Uf 

254,  3",  343 

Spade  work  {su  also  Entrench- 
ments), British  and  Rus- 
sian neglect  of^  L  175, 
Japanese  attention  to, 
175-6,  226 

Speed  of  Japanese  infantry  in 
attack  at  the  double,  i. 
142-5,  instances  ot  iL  202, 
905 

Spion  Kop,  a  parallel,  ii.  235  note 

Staff-officers,  Japanese  ideal  of,  ii. 
12  et  seq. 

Stakelberg,  General,  iL  180,  foreign 
opinion  of^  163 ;  atTelissu, 
331  a  seq. 

Stdffel,  Colonel  Baron,  French 
military  attach^,  Berlin, 
1870,  i.  513 

Stoessel,  General,  the  first  Japan- 
ese meeting  with,  alter  the 
siege,  his  meeting  with 
Nogi,  iL  313-5 

Strategy  at  Liaoyai^,  iLis6et  seq. 

Sugiura,  Dr.,  iL  9 

Smtechansa,  artillery  duel  near, 
Yoshirei  battle,  i.  324  etseq. 

Sukaton,  Japanese  troops  from,  at 
Tdlissu  fight,  i.  194 


Sumeda,  P^p»at«i^  gaHawtry «f  gj 

of  his  niea  at  Saakvss 
kisan,  iL  3x4  maU 

Snmino,  Sergeant-Major.  &.  2 

Suminoye  Maru^  militaiy  i>j— f»^- 
ship,  i.  44,  44 

Suribachiyama  Hdl,  YaJa^^i 
III  ^  note,  1x4,  117, a2r 
the  battle^,  119;  Rass:^ 
guns^north  of,  la^antbcr  i 
ice-breaking  pun  on,  ici 
Hill  (No.  2),  s«s  Okasaki-yaisz 

Swallow's  Nest  Hill,  iL  89.  :r: 
scene  from,  at  ciossiagd 
Taitsoho,  92  et  sef. 

Swat  ▼alley,  road-maJking  m,  L  2^ 

Tachibama,  Major,  comma»fi«B 
Japanese  outposts,  Cbao- 
tao  engagement,  LiSg^ts 
casualties,  290 

Tactics  at  Liaqjrang,  iL  156 

Tafiangshen.  in  relation  to  i^ 
Teussn  battle,  iL  341-2 

Taheirei,  Russian  first  iise  ot 
works  on,  <»uxied  (JJ.24I 
L306 

Taitsuho,  me,  in  the  line  ofntaxc^ 
Japanese  First  Army  Qj. 
1 5),  i.  249;  Kuroki'smarci: 
on  (Aug.  28  et  seq.),  iL  67, 
and  crossings  of,  85  «k 
87  noU^  88  et  seq. 

Taiyo,  iL  171-2 ;  the  tactics!  poo- 
tion  on  (Oct  9),  ij2  etst^, 

Takubokujo,  advance  against,  d 
Fourth  Japanese  Anoj 
(Jy.  22),  i.  283 ;  Rosaaa 
position  near,  after  evacc- 
ation  Qy.  24-5),  507; 
Fourth  Japanese  Army  at 
(Aug.  3),  u.  4 

Takushan,  landing  of  Nodio^ 
division  at  (May),  L  220; 
Japanese  Division  landed 
at  Tabout  June  19),  203; 
landing  of  Fourth  Army 
at  ii.  331 

Talana  Hill,  a  parallel,  L  126 

Talienwan,  mines  at,  i.  187 

Talmg  Pass,  ii.  175;  Umeawa^ 
position  near  (about  Oct 
10),  180,  igo-i ;  fighting 
at,  Ota's  gallanh  *,  and  its 
lessons  (Oct     j,  233-4 


Index 


885 


d&ka.  Captain,  and  the  King|s 
birthday,  ii.  280;  his 
tliree  poems  on  Kuropat- 
kin  and  their  translation, 
286-7  ^f^oies 

joeguchi,  Major-General,  Chief 
Medical  Officer,  First  Ja- 
panese Army,  i«  149,  15I1 

i.ngei.  General,  Chinese  Eastern 
Flying  Column,  visits  ex- 
changed with,  i.  163,  169, 
his  troops,  163-4,  ^i^ 
geographical  studies  and 
their  result,  164 

*ang  Ho,  in  relation  to  battle  of 
Aug.  26,  ii.  37  et  s$q, ;  Rus- 
sians driven  back  across, 

faniyama,  Colonel,  commanding 
1 6th  Japanese  Regiment 
at  the  Battle  of  Motien- 
ling,  i.  259  et  seq, ;  re- 
marlcable  march  of^  289  ; 
at  Chaotao,  295-^ 

Tapinrei,  Russian  position  on, 
penetrated  (Jy.  24),  i.  306 

Tashihchiao,  march  to,  of  2nd 
Japanese  Army,  (Jy.  21),  i. 
285,  battle  near,  (Jy.  24) 
Fujii's  news  of^  i.  305-7  ; 
town  o^  burnt  by  the 
retreating    Russians  (Jy. 

25).  306 
Tatsomi,     Major-GeneraL     com- 
'    manding  Eighth  Division, 
Heikoutai,  ii.  354 
Taygunzi,  Japanese  occupation  of 
during  the  Chaotao  fight, 
L  298 

TelisEU,  Russian  position  south  of, 
L  185,  battle  at,  186; 
Japanese  victory  at,  193- 
4,  222;  conditions  leading 
up  to,  ii.  330  ei  seq,;  jour- 
ney to,  327,  and  visit  to 
the  battlefield,  329^  332 
et,sef. 

Temperance  in  the  Japanese  army, 
ii.  283 

Temples,  old  and  new,  on  the 
Motienling  Pass,  in  con- 
nection with  the  battle, 
i.^«4  a  seq,^  ^54,  ^67,  270, 


Tenlanjruan  —  Tsaofantun,  line 
forming  4th  Army's  objec- 
tive (Aug.  28),  ii.  67 

Teraoutsi,  Lieutenant-General, 
War  Minister,  i.  19,  21, 
ii.  156-7 

Terayama,  iL  189,  Okasaki's  fine 
assault  on,  193,  199,  206 ; 
Japanese  entrenchments 
on  (Oct  12),  309 ;  author's 
visit  to,  after  the  battle, 
259 

Tiensiutien,  Russian  detachments 
at,  i.  225;  entire  reserve 
called  up  from  (Aug.  26), 
ii.  44,  54 ;  strategical  im- 
portance of,  i.  256,  307-8, 

Tiger  HiU,  Yalu  battle,  i.  91  ei  seq,; 
manoeuvre  against,  in,  loo, 
Russian  evacuation  of, 
and  re-occupation,  204, 
no 

Tips,  Japanese  soldiers'  disdain  of, 
ii  7,  26-7 

Tirah  campaign,  lesson  o^  as  to 
value  of  valley  versus  hill, 
i.  278 

Togo,  Admiral,  defeat  by,  of  the 
Russian  fleet  at  Port  Ar- 
thur (Aug.  10),  ii.  9 

Tokayen — ^Amping  line,  Russian 
menace  from,  i.  284,  319, 
Russian  retreat  to,  alter 
Yoshirei  battle,  i.  362 

Tokio,  arrrivai  of  the  author  at,  L 
I,  departure  from,  for  the 
firont,  44 ;  farewell  to  sol- 
diers at,  15,  44 

Tolstoi,  ciUd  on  effects  of  action 
of  isolated  individuals 
against  masses  of  troops 
endorsing  author's  own 
view,  i.  355  ;  on  the  way 
to  check  aggression,  iL  53 

Tori  No  Umif  Japanese  gunboat, 
L  52 

Toryako,  Japanese  troops  from,  at 
Telissu  fight,  L  194 

Towan,  Russian  forces  at,  i.  224, 
2|o;  Russian  stand  at, 
after  Motienling  skirmish, 
i-  239 ;  Japanese  firontal 
attack  on,  success  of,  L 
318 

2  B 


-i'V 


1-  «I7-  » 


A  ^ 


2.  iV.  K 

iifc  150;  bea-iyf^.— -.5 
at  tOcL  11-12..  255: 
Rtissdas  atmZerr  attar  k 
aj  Oct-  If  .  rtj 
irilj,  Ge-tTil.  aaed  bis 
trocps  at  ti.«  baitle  oC 
Yoshirei  'JjIj  311,1-315. 

239  rf  «^t  •  a-  73 


Li;.  Rsssiaa  troops  firaci, 

L:zh  c-ia-ity  ci.  i-  303 
n.^LTch  of  the  Japzuese 

en  Cha3tao,    a    bnliiant 

feat.  i.  2^2 
Twacilsa,  Hajor,  Chief  Adjotant, 

First     Japanese     Anny, 

L  212 
Twe«'foDteiii,  a  paraHeL  L  360 
903   Metre   Hul,  after   tbe  siece, 

iLjob-gi  valoor  shown  at, 

350 
*•  Two-  o* -clock  -  tn-the— moming 
coorage,"  L  360 

Umbxawa,  General,  aod  his  Bri- 
gade at  Yoshirei,  L  318; 
at  Penchiho  (Aag.  31),  iL 
82,  85,  89;  they  take  it, 
90  noU^  92 ;  advance  o^ 
106,  1 19 ;  fight  of  Sept.  4, 
131  ;  hu  position  (SepL 

17)9  173  ^  ^•;  lus  clever 
retresU,  177,  and  after, 
180;  position  o^on  Oct. 
ft>io,  iSo-i;  on  Oct  11, 
I  oo-i ;  on  Oct  x  2  (at  Pen- 
chiho), 231;  on  Oct.  13, 
247;  an  interview  with, 

304-5 

Vallbys,  waste  of  life  to  deploy 
men  in,  i  278 


I 


I 


ksaa     {J J.    6  J.    2}': 


313 


\V 


f-alrirtg  and 

(Oct  17,,  it 


r^  ~ 


209,  Lcl: 


W«^  Bdtisfa  idea  of,  noc  bam  :^ 


by 

215-6 


haEnars**  o^  L  235 


Lx68 

War  Office,  the,  a  good  rod  is, 
L193 

War-corre^KMidenfs,  di£Bciiities 
o^  dming  the  Mancbosi: 
war,  L  68-71  0tfassm 

Wasoko,  objective  of  2nd  Divisks 
(Oct  3X  ii-  244 

Watanabe,  Major-Geiien],  L  6:. 
146;  Camp  Commands: 
at  Head-qnarten^  Fss 
Japanese  Army,  149, 212; 
information  aflbcded  by. 
cm  the  battle  of  the  Yalo. 
73;  skt  HamatOQ  ^i. 
123-6 ;  map  of  this  ^ 
famished  bj,  122 ;  at  Yo- 
shirei  battle^  324 :  coo- 
man  ding  2nd  Brigade 
Gnards,  batUc  of  Aug.  26, 
u.  54*56;  the  Gaards,hili 
taken  by  (Oct  11),  194; 


Index 


387 


t 


-continued 


successful  attack  of.  on 
HiU  238  and  Hakashi  vil- 
lage (Oct  12),  ii.  219-23 
notes ;  objective  of  (Oct. 
13),  247 
itazxabe,  Sergeant-Major,  a  mar- 
tinet, i.  280;  compliment 
by,  on  the   King's  birth- 
day, ii.  288 
aterloo,  a  parallel,  ii.  231-2 
'aziri  Kxpedition,  a  parallel,  L 

347 
^el-hai-wei,  i.  211 

/eining,  crossing  of  the  Taitsnho 
at,  by  Rennenkampf  and 
his  Cossacks  (Oct.  8),  ii. 
2361  238 

Veizugo,  Russian  resistance  at 
(Aug.  29),  ii.  70 

Welcome  Farm  ^South  A&ica),  a 
parallel,  1.  346 

White,  Field-Marshal,  Sir  George, 
i.  8z 

Wiju,  view  from,  i.  60;  Japanese 
strategy  and  minor  tactics 
at,  60-1;  dirt  of  the  town, 
61,  Japanese  advance  to, 
182  et  uq,,  and  concen- 

'  tration  near.  86 

Woerth,  battle  of,  •*  key  "  of,  i.  94 
Women  of  Japan,  characteristics 
of,  1. 17 

'  Women,  when  most  appreciated,  a 
personal  view,  L  247 


Yalu,  battle  of  the,  preliminaries, 
course,  i.  73  it  seq^  ana 
result  of^  1 32-4;  Japanese 
plan  of  the  fight,  88 ;  usts 
of  big  guns  at,  45 
8oldier*8  model  of,  155 

Yalu  river,  first  sight  of,  i.  80 

Yalu  and  Yoshirei,  battles  of,  Japa- 
nese view  of  the  relative 
importance  of,  i.  320 

Yalu— Aiho  plain,  features  o^  i. 
89-90 

Yamagata,  Marquis,  President  of 
the  Imperial  Council  of 
Defence,  i  19,  22 


Yamamoto,  Baron,  Naval  Minister 
i.  19,  20 

Yamorinza  Valley,  Russian  retreat 
upon^  i.  275,  and  position 
relative  to  (Jy.  16),  307  ;  in 
relation  to  the  battle  of 
Yoshirei,  316  W  seq.,  330, 
331-2 ;  Russian  positions 
barring,  323,  324  et  sea. 

Yasumura,  Colonel,  commanding 
Himeji  Regiment,  Sank- 
waisekisan  fight,  ii.  213 

Yentai  Coal  Mines,  ii.  93;  Russian 
menace  from  96,  98-9, 
104;  fight  of,  107;  news  of^ 
from  Jardiue,  147-8;  line 
of  Japanese  Army  from, 
to  rsdlway,  172-3;  8th 
Division  at,  ii.  271 ;  in 
tense  cold,  and  rifle  meet- 
ing at  rpec.),  293; 
Christmas  Day  in  camp 
at,  269-9 1  battle  near 
(Jan.  29,  OS),  348 

Yokohama  Bay  (Feb.  13,  05)  '^  and 
there  an  end,"  ii.  362 

Yongampho,  Japanese  cavalry  re- 
connaissance at,  i.  82 

Yoshi,  Lieutenant,  derringndo  o^ 
at  Motienling  skirmish,  i. 

«34-7 
Yoshirei,  Russians  at,  i.  225-230, 

239 ;  withdrawal  of  Rus- 
sians from  rjuly  26),  307; 
battle  of  (July  31),  314, 
details  of,  315  et  sea,; 
four  categories  of  tne 
fighting,  318 ;  author*s 
comments.  337-8 ;  results 
of,  and  relative  positions 
of  combatants,  362 

Yushuling—  Penling  on  the  Shi-Ho, 
Turcheffsky's  position  on 
Oy.  31),  i.  318,  the  attack 
on,  344  et  seq, 

Yoshirei — ^Yushuling  line,  error  of 
Russians  on  fighting  from 
Oy.  31).  ii-  73 

Z£NSHOTATSUKO,knoll,  carried  and 
held  by  Matsunaga  (Oct 
12),  ii.  228 


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